Mortal Kombat 11 Retold
by thatoneguy655
Summary: Shinnok has finally been defeated! Or so it would seem. Two years have passed and the fallen Elder God's real plan has only just begun. One that has been in the works for two timelines and over thousands of years. He isn't alone. Fellow Elder God, Kronika, seeks to assist him. Can the heroes defeat two Elder Gods with all the time in the world?
1. Prologue: Armageddon

It seemed the Battle for Armageddon was over. In a surprising swerve, Shao Kahn was the last man standing. Not Taven or Daegon, as it was destined. Both of the brothers were slain by Shinnok, who was then slain by Raiden. Raiden was ready to claim the powers of Blaze for himself but that's when Shao Kahn arrived.

Shao Kahn had been abducted by Onaga, how was he here?! After battling the hordes of both good and evil, Raiden was weak. Shao Kahn on the other hand seemed even STRONGER than he was before.

Raiden's beatdown by Kahn was enough for him to realize just how truly dire the situation surrounding him was. Raiden was the last man standing by slaying the good guys he started the battle with. He feigned turning back to the side of good but now, in his final moments, he truly was on that side. Perhaps it was the repeated blows to the head or maybe, it really was the old Raiden finally returning.

As Raiden was battered by the emperor, he heard a voice call out to him. It was the amulet. The very same one Shao Kahn had shattered.

This amulet was an artifact claimed by Raiden thousands of years ago, during the war between the Earthrealm and the Netherrealm. It was an artifact Shinnok had. What it was for was anyone's best guess, but Raiden thought that it was better off in his hands rather than the fallen Elder God's. He normally left it in the Sky Temple, his home, but something compelled him to bring it with him only two times. Once during the Mortal Kombat tournament where Shang Tsung was defeated by Liu Kang and now, during Armageddon. He wasn't sure what it was, but there was something to the amulet. Something that influenced him.

Now, it was calling to him to use it. Without even thinking, Raiden took the pieces of the amulet and began speaking in an ancient language. Even he did not understand it. He could feel it's influence, the power it held. It was now he understood what the amulet was. It was a way to send a message back to the past. He sent as many visions as he could to the past before uttering his last words, "He must win."

The Thundergod's head was now little more than a mess of bloody chunks scattered across the Pyramid of Argus. Shao Kahn tipped his corpse over and stood over it victoriously. Then, he approached the edge of the Pyramid and sat upon the stairs. He removed his helmet and smiled.

"Yes! At long last, victory is mine! No more shall stand to oppose me! The realms...belong to me!"

He looked to the sky, seeing all other realms converge with Edenia. Unfortunately, his victory would be rather short lived as time itself was frozen. Descending from the sky with his arms crossed was Shinnok, with a rather self-satisfied smirk on his face. He walked up the steps of the Pyramid of Argus, appreciating every corpse that surrounding him. Even the corpse of himself...or so it seemed.

"Ahh yes, it seems they fell for my doppelganger gambit just as I thought they would..." Shinnok said to himself as he continued up the stairs.

"You've played your part as my pawn well, Emperor," Shinnok said as he walked past the frozen Shao Kahn. He then turned his direction to Raiden's headless corpse, "But you, Thundergod, without you...my plan would have never worked. So, thank you. Thank you for taking that Amulet."

He grabbed the shattered Amulet and crushed it into dust in his hands. As he did, something else descended from the sky. It was a woman garbed in ornate white and golden robes. She fell at Shinnok's side and laughed, "So, you've finally freed me!"

"Why of course, Kronika" Shinnok replied, "I need you and you need me. Only together can we destroy our fellow Elder Gods and claim the realms for ourselves!"

"Then let us get to work. You must hurry, though. Raiden's message has already been received by his past counterpart. I cannot keep this current timeline up for much longer."

"Send us back to after I was defeated by Raiden. I cannot risk altering time even further back than that. I will meddle with certain slowly, so that our plan can continue forward in the next timeline."

"A smart idea, Shinnok. So be it, then!"

Kronika waved her hands and began speaking in the same language Raiden did as he sent that message back to his past counterpart. When she finished the incantation, she reached to the skies and a white flash sent both Elder Gods back to their desired point in time.

Their interference with the timeline stretched further back than any normal mortal could comprehend. It stretched across millions of years, which was nothing in the eyes of two Elder Gods. It was their knowledge of the future that led to Quan-Chi's becoming a seemingly infallible master manipulator, Sindel's corruption into an evil queen, and many more deviations from the original timeline.

With a Shinnok duplicate's two failed invasion attempts, it was now time for Kronika and Shinnok's true plan to finally unfold. With Kronika's nigh unstoppable powers of controlling time and Shinnok's unparalelled skills of manipulating those around him, the told may very well be unstoppable...

* * *

_So, how about that Mortal Kombat 11 story? To say I was dissatisfied with it would be an understatement. So much wasted potential._

_That's why I've decided to try and rewrite it. Now, am I egotistical enough to say that I could have done it better than the writers of the actual game? No. No I'm not. I'm gonna go further than that! I think just about ANY fan of the games could have done it better than the writers of Mortal Kombat 11! What a trainwreck of a story. It's so dissatisfying. There's about a hundred ways you could do a better sequel to MKX, but with thise I've decided to challenge myself._

_I'm going to try to rewrite things while still keeping the general plot of MK11. What I'm saying is that while this is a major rewrite, I'm still keeping the basic plot of, "Kronika manipulates time and brings back past fighters to serve her." It'd be easy to throw out Kronika, her mere existence pretty much destroys the lore of Mortal Kombat, but I'm not gonna do that. Instead of being a Titan, which might be one of the dumber things Netherrealm has ever pulled out of their ass, she's an Elder God. Where has she been? Why has she never been mentioned until now? Why did she only show up now? Don't worry, the story will get around to explaining that._

_As for Shinnok, remember when we were supposed to take this guy seriously? They really REALLY want us to believe this idiot is somehow a greater evil than Shao Kahn, Shang Tsung, or even his own lackey Quan-Chi. He was already hard enough to take seriously in the old timeline but now he's just a joke. I'm going to try to rectify this. Shinnok has a lot of plot potential. A fallen Elder God who's practically MK's equivalent to Satan. He should be a serious threat. I always liked the theory that the Shinnok at the end of MK9 was Shinnok from the first timeline, going off of Shinnok's Armageddon ending. So that's what I'm rolling with here._

_Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this prologue. More is to hopefully come._


	2. A Champion Consumed by Vengeance

A loud rumbling shook the Netherrealm. Shinnok's sacred temple had come crashing down, much to the disdain of the corrupted Liu Kang. His plans to invade Earthrealm had been foiled by the Special Forces in a mere two years.

He looked across the shattered remains with his mouth agape. He fell to his knees and cried out to the sky.

"All that planning...for nothing! All for nothing! I thought I had planned for everything!"

Kitana knelt down next to him, "This is just a minor setback, Liu. We will kill Raiden for everything he's done to us and take Earthrealm for ourselves. In due time, we will have our revenge."

"It's been 27 years, Kitana. 27 years since we became what we are now..."

Liu looked at his darkened gray hands with a tinge of regret. It seemed like that for just a second, the real Liu Kang was starting to shine out. But the Revenant Liu wasn't having it. He clenched his fists and slammed them against the ground. He bared his teeth and growled.

"I feel it again. What I was once before screaming at me. Screaming to let him out. I have to try my hardest to hold him back. I know that what we're doing now is what's right. Raiden is a menace. But without Shinnok or Quan-Chi's influence...we are becoming weaker. I don't want to go back to what I was before I became a revenant."

"You feel it too, Liu? Yes, I guess we all do. The pull to the light is stronger than ever. But we must fight it! We were naive back then. But now? We're free, Liu. We can't lose that freedom."

Liu looked up to his Queen with a smile. Liu didn't care for many people at this point in his life, but Kitana was an exception. She was his lone shining light in these dark times.

"You always know what to say, Kitana. You're absolutely right. We will fight to preserve our freedom. No matter what it takes. I will fight harder. Gather the revenants, we must determine how we're going to strike back."

Kitana helped Liu back to his feet and the two retreated to one of Shinnok's abandoned fortresses.

This fortress was the Pyramid of Shinnok, once the domain of Quan-Chi and Shinnok. Upon the cathedral being built upon the Netherrealm's mainland, the Pyramid was considered needless. Especially so after Shinnok's death. As such, it was in rough condition. The bricks that laid the foundation were loose and the pyramid was slowly sinking into the Sea of Immortality. The only way to cross was the Bridge of Immortality, which too was also falling apart. The revenants had to watch their steps as they crossed it, lest one of the stones holding it together fall beneath their feet.

When they entered the partially sunken the Pyramid, the inside was almost worse than the outside. It was littered with the corpses of the Keepers and Brotherhood of Shadow members, which left a particularly rancid smell. Said smell being made even worse by the Sea of Immortality's mysterious waters leaking into the inside. It was a far cry from the once proud palace it was.

Liu Kang was disgusted this is what they had to resort to, but he didn't have much of a choice. The revenants all gathered in what was once Quan-Chi's throne room. It was a dim chamber, with a long thin walkway leading towards the throne. Liu sat upon the throne and looked at his followers.

"Raiden has ruined our lives time and time again. I say no more! Though things may appear to be dire, we will not be defeated! We are the Netherrealm! We will reign supreme!"

A revenant stepped forward from the crowd. It was Kung Lao. He snarled at his Shaolin partner, "You have given us the same canned speech for so long. I tire of your poor leadership. For someone who was claimed to be Earthrealm's champion, you are little more than a fool!"

Liu slammed his fist on his armrest.

"Do not question me, Kung Lao. Only I know what is best for us."

"I'd say I'm beginning to doubt that, but I began doubting that a long time ago. Step aside, you are no more worthy of that throne than any of us!"

Kitana stepped in front of Liu Kang, but Liu motioned for her to step aside.

"Let me handle this insurrection before it even starts."

Liu stood up from his throne and cracked his knuckles. Lao cracked his neck. The two former friends stared each other down for a minute, trying to psyche the other out.

Lao threw the first punch but Liu simply grabbed it. He twisted Lao's wrist and kicked him across the bridge. Kung Lao threw his hat, but Liu simply kicked it back at him. Lao leapt upwards, grabbed the hat in midair, and front flipped over Liu Kang. He tried swinging the hat downward upon Liu's head, but Liu turned around and clapped his hands, catching the hat midswing. Lao tried to bring it down, but Liu simply shoved him aside. Liu quickly threw out three fireballs at Lao. Lao teleported under them and rose back up behind Liu. He tripped Liu onto the ground, kicking him over the edge of the bridge. Liu grabbed onto ledge, looking up at Lao.

"I truly do hate doing this, Liu. But your incompetence has cost us too much." Lao was ready to slam his razored hat onto Liu's fingers, but Liu leapt up and kicked his former partner right in the face. Kung Lao stumbled, nearly falling back over the edge. As he was distracted, Liu delivered a punch right to Lao's stomach. This was enough to send Lao over the edge.

As the arrogant warrior looked back up one last time, his eyes locked with Liu Kang's. His expression was that of shock and anger. Shocked that Liu would actually do this but angry that he had been bested just one last time. He hit the sea with a splash, screaming as he sank to the bottom. Liu's expression was that of a conflicted man. Sorrow, yet stern. One who had just sent his once best friend into the Sea of Immortality but felt that it was a necessary action.

"That wasn't necessary, Lao. But...a good leader makes sacrifices when they're needed."

As Liu returned to his throne, he heard clapping. It was Kronika, gently stepping across the bridge towards the revenants.

"Impressive work, Shaolin warrior. I can see why you were once the Champion of Earthrealm."

"Who are you and why do you think you can barge into here?"

"I am Kronika, Elder God of time. I'm here to assist you, Liu."

"Elder God of time...? Hah! What a laughable idea. Why would an Elder God come here to assist me? Revenants, attack this wench!"

Jade and Stryker tried to attack Kronika, but Kronika simply raised her hand. The two were frozen in place where they stood.

Liu stood up from his throne, baffled at what he's seen. He snapped his finger, causing the other revenants to stand down.

"Yes, very impressive indeed. It seems what you say is true. But then, why are you here?"

"We both have a similar problem in the form of Raiden. His interference has caused much strife in the timestream. Though I did not wish to interfere in the affairs of mortals, I cannot allow this to continue in good conscience. If his meddling continues, time itself may very well be unraveled. I need your help, Liu."

Liu grinned devilishly, enthusiastically nodding along with her as she spoke.

"Say no more, we would be delighted to help you. I always knew we were on the side of Elder Gods this whole time. Raiden really is the enemy!"

"Indeed," Kitana interjected, "now, Kronika, if you would not mind please free Stryker and Jade."

Kronika graciously bowed. She moved her hand in a counter-clockwise motion, reversing Stryker and Jade back in time until they were back to where the were before she arrived. She then whistled, causing grains of sand to rise up from the ground. The grains of sand formed into the shape of a tall, muscular humanoid male. The sand began to colorize and sculpt itself into a human...so it seemed.

The man's skin color was dark with striking pure blue glowing eyes. His clothes had a clean white and golden aesthetic, similar to Kronika's own.

"In exchange for one of your revenants, I offer you the service of Geras," Kronika said, motioning towards the golem, "My finest servant. He could assist you in many ways. He is immortal, unstoppable. Even if he is killed, he will come back stronger."

Liu Kang thoughtfully rubbed his chin, considering her offer.

"That depends. What revenant do you want?"

Without word, Kronika pointed to Enenra. Liu Kang stood up from his throne. He cracked his knuckles and his neck.

"I shall give you Enenra, but only if Geras can prove himself in Mortal Kombat."

Geras stepped forward, grunting with his brow furrowed. Kronika pointed him forward, causing him to charge towards Liu Kang.

Liu tried to jump kick him, but Geras simply grabbed him by the foot and slammed him into the ground. Liu got back up and began to repeatedly punch Geras in the chest. Geras simply stammered backwards, not emoting in the slightest to these attacks. He grabbed Liu's fist and picked him up by it. Liu kicked him in the jaw, causing Geras' neck to turn 180 degrees. Geras simply turned his head back around with his free hand and threw Liu Kang back into his throne, destroying it entirely. Liu stood back up from the rubble and laughed.

"Yes! Yes! Geras is an excellent opponent! He shall serve us well! You may take Enenra. A worthy trade in my eyes."

Kronika folded her hands and cocked her head backwards. Geras pulled back and knelt before Liu Kang. He nodded once at the Netherrealm's king, acknowledging his newfound service to the despot.

"As a final show of gratitude," Kronika began, "I shall restore the Pyramid of Shinnok to it's former glory."

She closed her eyes and folded her arms. As she did, the Pyramid began to rise out from the Sea of Immortality, the sea's mysterious liquid quickly pouring back out. The throne was reformed. The foundation was restored and the littered corpses from within were restored to life. The Pyramid of Shinnok was once again the shining beacon within the Netherrealm.

Kronika snapped her fingers, causing both herself and Enenra to vanish.

Liu Kang looked upon his revenants and Geras while laughing to himself.

"Gentlemen, I believe we have all we need to invade Earthrealm."

* * *

Kronika reappeared before Shinnok in an unknown location. It was a void between both time and space. Neither heaven, nor hell. It was the location of Kronika's hourglass.

"So, did you convince Liu Kang," Shinnok asked.

"I have. We are one step closer to our goal. The next part of my plan is to try and convince the cryomancer Sub-Zero to our cause. His Lin Kuei clan is a viable asset to Earthrealm and without them, Raiden's forces would be significantly weaker."

"A wise idea. Together, we truly are an indomitable pair. The Elder Gods may have banished us both, but that's because we're ambitious. They questioned us for wanting to involve ourselves in the affairs of mortals, but we could see what they couldn't! They fail to understand that the mortals could one day wield the power to destroy us...unless we put them in their place."

Kronika slowly approached Shinnok, not breaking eye contact with him for even a second.

"Indeed. I must thank you for freeing me from my inprisonment. Once that amulet was destroyed, they could no longer keep me locked in this timeless void. Now, we must make sure that the greatest threats to our control are extinguished before they can strike at us before we achieve our ultimate plan."

"And we will. I've planned this for so long. Ever since the other Elder Gods unfairly banished you..."

Kronika placed her hand on his shoulder. Shinnok's gaze met hers as the two stared at each other for a moment.

"The other Elder Gods are short-sighted," Kronika said, breaking the temporary silence between the two, "Only we know and control the future."

The two silently and triumphantly stood together, looking towards the towering hourglass in the background.

* * *

_And so ends the first real chapter. Reception to the prologue seems pretty positive so far, so I'd like to thank everybody to that!_

_FloweryNamesLover you know your support is always appreciated. Thanks for wishing me luck! By the way if you're reading this then you've certainly checked out her story, Mortal Kombat: Desperation. If you haven't, what are you waiting for? It's a great read!_

_MKDemigodZ-Warrior, great question. I'd say that in this story none of the Elder Gods are related so the two are simply immortal rivals._

_As for the other reviews, thanks for the feedback! It's always appreciated!_

_See you in the next chapter._


	3. The Grandmaster's Failure

It was a rather calm day at the Lin Kuei fortress. Grandmaster Sub-Zero was meditating in his chamber, reflecting on all the progress he had made with the clan. No longer were they hired assassins, they were now protectors. He had made done a lot of good, but he couldn't let go of just one failure. One failure that stuck with him even throughout all of his triumphs.

Something felt wrong. Call it instinct, but Sub-Zero had a bad feeling crawling up his spine. He opened his eyes just before the entire stronghold began to shake. He got back up but before he could leave the chamber, the entire stronghold began to rock. He nearly fell over before catching himself on the wall. When he opened the door leading to his chamber, he saw one of his Lin Kuei warriors running towards him. The man seemed tense, his eyes were wide and his uniform was coated in blood.

"Grandmaster! Grandmaster," the warrior called out in a panicked scream. Before Sub-Zero could even say anything, the warrior collapsed forward. Sticking out from his back was a rather strange looking dagger. It had glowing green lights coating the metallic hilt and it seemed very technological in nature. Sub-Zero knelt down to examine the weapon.

"This technology," he said to himself, "this must be the work of Sektor." He quickly stood back up and bolted towards the main entrance of the stronghold. It seemed impossible, Sektor was dead. He still had his head on display and everything

When he stepped out into the main hall, he saw dozens of cyborgs tearing apart the very clan he worked to rebuild. Mutilated corpses of the Lin Kuei littered the room, clearly unable to handle the sheer numbers and power of the cyborgs. Those that weren't dead were being dragged away, presumably to be cyberized. Sub-Zero looked across his dead comrades, it was almost overwhelming. The feeling of both rage and sadness consumed him. He charged into the horde of cyborgs while screaming, letting all of his pent up feelings loose.

One flew at him but he simply leapt over it. He froze the cyborg as it went under him. The cyborg went careening as it crashed into a wall and shattered into pieces. Two more flanked him but he froze the floor around them, causing them to slip. He grabbed one by the legs and slammed it into the other trying to get back up. He repeated this five times. As another one came flying, he simply tossed the cyborg he was holding at it and both crashed.

However, not even Sub-Zero could stand up to the horde of at least two dozen cyborgs that came at him next. He tried freezing the floor beneath them, but they simply started flying above the frozen ground. He tried shooting frozen blasts at them but there were simply too many coming at him at once. This took down a good five or so, but it was getting tiring firing so many ice blasts consecutively. Having one last option, he chose to raise a wall of ice in front of him. The cyborgs crashed into the wall, but it only managed to break the few in the front. The rest managed to break through the ice to grab him. Struggled as he might, their grasp was simply too much. The last thing Sub-Zero saw was his vision going black as he was overwhelmed by them.

When Kuai came to, he heard a synthesized female voice speaking to him. He couldn't understand it at first. He also felt the ground, it was cold and metallic.

"Get up you old fool," the voice demanded. He next felt a kick to his ribs. When he opened his eyes, things were at first blurry.

"Didn't you hear me? Get UP!" He then felt another kick to the ribs, this time harder. He grunted in pain, completely awakening. What he saw standing in over him was a lithe cyborg in light blue and black armor. Her face was covered up by the typical helmet of a cybernetic ninja.

"Wh...who are you," he asked, holding his ribs in pain.

The female cyborg laughed, "Right, right. You might not recognize me like this. Not since my enhancements..."

"Your voice sounds familiar. Tell me, who are you? Where's Sektor?"

She knelt down and grabbed him by the throat.

"Sektor? Hah! Sektor's a joke, old man. He's the past. So're you. I'm the future. I'll give you one guess as to who I am before I execute you."

Sub-Zero might've been able to guess were he in a better state of mind, but the death of his entire clan at the hands of this mysterious cyborg and being knocked out directly afterwards left him frazzled and unable to think. He remained without an answer. This time gave him a chance to observe the environment. It was a laboratory. A dimly lit and dingy one at that. The most noteworthy thing were a set of three large tubes in the back filled with green glowing liquid. Inside the liquid were the mutilated bodies of people with cybernetic limbs grafted onto where their arms and legs once were. Sub-Zero was disgusted by this hideous display.

Two minutes passed before the female cyborg dragged him off the floor and lifted him in the air by his throat.

"You really can't guess?! Has senility finally caught up to you? Fine, I'll show you. Let you look upon the face of your superior before you die."

The faceplate and top of her helmet retracted revealing the distintive spiky ice-like hair and face of his former pupil, Frost. Albeit a Frost who looked...unwell. Her face was paler than even before, it was almost a stark pure white, her scelera and pupils were a pure bright glowing blue, her eyes were sunken into her face with dark rings around them, and she still wore a half mask even under her helmet. Steam periodically leaked out from the mask, as did the sound of heavy incumbered breathing. A large jagged set of scars ran across her face, almost as if she was scratched by some kind of monster.

Sub-Zero's eyes went wide when he saw her. He couldn't believe his eyes.

"F-Frost?! I can't believe it! Where have you been? I've been so worried, ever since you left the clan...!"

* * *

_Flashback_

Approximately one year before these current events. Sub-Zero and Frost were in a particularly intense sparring match. The only rules in place is that neither could use ice and whoever hit the ground first was the loser.

The battle was nearing it's end. Frost was throwing out every punch that she could but Sub-Zero managed to either parry or block every single incoming hit. Frost eventually began to slow down, eventually allowing Sub-Zero to trip her. Thankfully, she caught herself with her hands before she hit the ground. Realizing she was on her last legs, Frost froze Sub-Zero's left foot to the ground. This took the Grandmaster by surprise and Frost took this chance to uppercut him. Sub-Zero went high into the air, falling onto the floor. Frost pumped her fist in victory but Kuai simply looked up at her in disappointment.

"Oh what?! I won, didn't I?"

"You won by using the most underhanded tactic available to you. You fought with cowardice and aggression. Though you may have technically won, it was unearned. A victory without honor is hardly a victory at all."

"We're fighting for our lives out there, Grandmaster! What does this teach me?! Every day I'm alive feels like a victory!"

"It starts that way, but I've seen what happens when you start fighting like that. It taints your very soul."

"What if my opponent fights dirty like that? You can only fight fire with fire sometimes."

"Then you outwit your opponent."

"Like you just did?"

"I...Frost, please. Just listen to me."

"Why should I?! You're always doubting me! Always treating me like I'm a second-class citizen! Remember when I attacked Scorpion and you just froze me?! Like I was NOTHING to you? How come I don't see you being such a hardass on the other students?! You just see me as an object to train but guess what, Sub-Zero?! I'm a person!"

"Frost-!"

"Shut up! Stop talking down to me! I'm done with you and I'm done with this clan! I don't need either of you!"

She stormed out of the dojo and out of the fortress. Sub-Zero tried to chase her but by the time he got outside, she was gone. That didn't stop him from looking, though. He and a pack of clan members packed up and travelled the entirety of the countryside trying to find her in an intense. They were gone for eight months. When Sub-Zero came back, he was the only one who did. Broken by this experience, Sub-Zero exiled himself into his chamber for the next four months. Rarely did he ever come out, instead spending most of his time meditating. The clan remained vigilant, even with their master's breakdown, but without him at the lead they were clearly unprepared for what came next.

_Back to the present..._

* * *

"Shut up," she said back to him as she slammed him into a wall, "Look at you. You're all washed up. It looks like the student has become the master now."

"Frost I realize I wasn't the best teacher...I never gave you the proper training you needed nor the compassion you wanted! I wasn't ready to take in a pupil! I'm sorry!"

She squeezed her fingers around his neck even harder, "I don't want your false apologies. Guess what, though? I'm not going to kill a man who just woke up. I want to prove I'm better than you in an actual fight." Frost dropped him onto the ground while lowering her helmet and faceplate, "I'm gonna give you five minutes. You had best rest up. After that, we'll fight and I'm going to kill you."

Sub-Zero sat up and began to meditate. He realized that his failures were all his own this time. While outside circumstances had taken away both his brother, his best friend, and his clan before he had nobody to blame but himself this time. He tried to hide his emotions while training Frost and then when she left, he let his emotions cloud him too much. This time, he was going to do things right.

Five minutes passed. Sub-Zero stood back up. Frost was standing there, waiting for him. The two charged at each other. Frost threw the first punch, which Sub-Zero deflected. After that, he slid backwards. She fired missiles at him but Sub-Zero froze them in midair, causing them to crash onto the floor before they even came close to him. When the cloud cleared away, Frost was flying directly towards Sub-Zero. She slammed right into him, sending him right into a metal wall.

He collapsed onto his bottom, breathing heavily. It was clear that he was still tired from fighting those cyborgs. She came running at him and he gathered up his energy to leap up above her. He landed on his feet but not before stammering around to regain his balance. Frost again tried ramming into him but he simply ducked beneath it. She landed near a desk, which she picked up and threw right at him. Sub-Zero slid under it, sliding all the way to her and tripping her up.

She fell onto the ground flat on her face. Frost took this chance while on the ground to freeze Sub-Zero's right foot onto the floor. It looked like this took Sub-Zero by complete surprise. She quickly got back up onto her feet with the help of her built in jets and took this chance to uppercut her former master.

Unfortunately for her, Sub-Zero had anticipated this and bent over backwards to avoid her fist. This left an easy opening. Sub-Zero broke free of the ice on his foot and he tackled her onto the ground. He leapt off of her and before she could even react, he encased her entirely within a block of ice.

He looked at her frozen body with an immense regret. He ran his hand across it, "I meant to tell you this during our fight before you left...but I didn't want you to turn out like Tomas or Bi-Han. I guess it's too late for that. I have failed you, Frost. I have failed you."

As he began to walk away, he felt another presence in the room. When he turned around, he saw Kronika standing before him. Beside her was Enenra. He was ready to engage in combat but Kronika warmly smiled at him, giving the Lin Kuei grandmaster pause.

"What do you want?"

"I want to help you, Sub-Zero. Your life has been filled with tragedy and loss. You've lost everyone around you...all are either dead or corrupt shells of their former selves. I can change that."

Sub-Zero continued walking away, "You cannot change the past."

She suddenly reappeared in front of him, "You haven't even heard my offer or seen what I can do."

Kuai was startled by her reappearance. He wasn't having any of it though, shoving her aside as he continued away. Kronika clenched her fists reversed time.

Sub-Zero found himself back in the laboratory, baffled by this turn of events.

"What do you want?!"

"I need the Lin Kuei's assistance."

"I've got a surprise for you, the Lin Kuei is dead. I'm the last one."

She snapped her fingers, teleporting them back to the Lin Kuei's headquarters. When they arrived, the Lin Kuei warriors were all alive again. Sub-Zero couldn't believe his eyes, "What sorcerery is this?!"

"I am Kronika," she explained, "Elder God of time. I can control time. I have restored your clan members back to how they were before death. I can reverse many things, in fact."

She motioned her hand towards Enenra and his gray skin reverted back to it's natural color, his dead eyes were filled with life, and he regained his sense of humanity. Smoke was back. Sub-Zero's eyes went wide, "Tomas?!"

"Kuai!"

The two hugged and laughed heartily.

"It's been so long," Smoke said with genuine enthusiasm, beaming under his mask.

"It's been too long, I'd say. Over two decades...almost three at this point. You always were late."

Smoke simply chuckled, "No more later than you! It took you THIS long to save me?"

"I didn't save you," Sub-Zero admitted while pointing to Kronika, "it was her."

"Now this, this is how things should be. Kuai, I can save both your brother and your apprentice too. But before I do that, I need you to help me."

"You have proven yourself as an Elder God. I am honored to be of your service."

"Good, good. I need you to kill Raiden. By any means necessary, the Thunder God must be stopped."

Sub-Zero and Smoke both looked at her with wide eyes and their mouths slightly ajar.

Smoke looked to Sub-Zero, "Kill Raiden? That...that doesn't seem like something an Elder God would want, right?"

"I simply must agree. I know Raiden has become a bit harsh in his methods but to murder him? It doesn't feel right."

"It doesn't right now, but Raiden as he is now is a liability to the timestream. He will one day wage war with Outworld that ends in a massive genocide on both ends. You simply must understand, this is what has to be done. Armageddon is sure to follow if this continues."

Sub-Zero bowed, "If that's what it must come down to, then you have my word. I hate to do this but we can't risk all of those lives."

Smoke reluctantly agreed, still having a feeling in his stomach that something wasn't right.

"Thank you! You don't know how many lives you've just saved. I will come back to direct you when the time has come." She then vanished. When she left, Sub-Zero was ready to walk away but Smoke grabbed him by the arm.

"Are you sure this is such a great idea, Kuai?"

"No, no I'm not. But we can't sit idly by and let this continue. She does have a point that eventually Raiden's madness will escalate. I was afraid that this conflict would come sooner or later but it might as well be now before Raiden risks too many lives."

* * *

Kronika returned to the destroyed Tekunin laboratory. She reversed the ice surrounding Frost, freeing her. Frost sat back up, snarling in rage. When she saw Sub-Zero was gone she angrily sighed, "I'm never going to beat him!"

"Feeling betrayed, Frost? Poor girl, you've never had anybody who's loved you. Such a sad thing..."

Frost directed her attention to Kronika, standing up with her fists clinched, "I don't need your pity!" She tried attacking her but Kronika simply froze the cryomancer in time where she stood.

"I am not your enemy. In fact, I'm quite the opposite. I can give you exactly what you want, Frost. I can give you a world where you're appreciated. Maybe even loved."

Frost, both impressed and horrified by this mysterious woman's powers, said, "What did you do?!"

Kronika snapped her fingers, allowing Frost to move again. Again Kronika made her offer known, "I can give you anything, but I need your help."

"Say no more," Frost replied, "as long as I get what I want in the end, I can't complain."

Kronika shook Frost's hand, signifying their deal. Frost didn't even hear what Kronika wanted and in the end, she didn't even care. As long as Kronika could fulfill her promise, and it seems like she could, then it didn't even matter. Frost had always been alone in a world that she felt rejected her.

At first, she was unloved by her parents. Given away for adoption for reasons she could not understand. To her peers, she was a freak. Her strange powers and unusual hair made her a reject. So she resorted to violence, the one thing she excelled at. When the Lin Kuei found her, she thought she had finally found someone she could relate to. Someone who would understand. Unfortunately, to her it felt that not even Sub-Zero could understand her plight.

If Kronika could fulfill her promise then perhaps, she'd finally have a chance to live in a world where she was beloved.

* * *

_Some of you might be wondering, what's with Frost? How did she become a cyborg? Why does it seem like she's practically on the verge of death, what with the really pale skin and respirator even under her helmet? In this chapter, I had a chance to either show why Frost left the Lin Kuei or why she is the way she is now. Can't have too much exposition in one chapter after all. I decided that showing the day she left the Lin Kuei was ultimately more important to her and Sub-Zero's character arcs rather than showing how she became a cyborg. _

_However, I can at least explain how. While Frost was trekking around the mountainside where the Lin Kuei fortress is located she was attacked by an Ice Beast (those big Yeti things from MK Armageddon.) On the verge of near death, she accidentally stumbles into a hidden compound constructed by Sektor just in case he needed to retreat from the Lin Kuei. Since Sektor died before he escaped Sub-Zero, this left his hideout filled with back-up cyborgs just lying around. The practically mindless cyborgs detect that there's an intruder, convert her into a cyborg, inadvertently saving her life in the process, and she quickly takes control of them. That's a brief explanation. If anyone ever wanted me to expand on this backstory, I suppose I could either make a one-off fic for it or an individual out of order prequel chapter._

_MKDemigodZ-Warrior, those are really good questions. Shinnok's Pyramid was abandoned after Sub-Zero Mythologies. If you mean Shinnok's temple that was destroyed at the beginning of the chapter, then it was JUST destroyed by the Special Forces. The event happened pretty similarly to MK11 but Sonya managed to survive it. I plan on showing the aftermath on the Special Forces' side in the next chapter. This story will be following up on Mortal Kombat 9 and X. I apologize if any inconsistencies come up about those games. I'll try my best to keep this from diverging but some mistakes are bound to slip through. Netherrealm themselves have a pretty hard time keeping up with their own lore._

_Anyway, the next chapter coming up will be focusing on Cassie Cage so I hope I'll see you there!_


	4. Drifting Relationships

Within a bright red flash, Raiden, Cassie Cage, Johnny Cage, and Jacqui Briggs had returned to the Special Forces' main compound. Their raid on the Netherrealm had been a rousing success.

Sonya, sitting at a massive set of computer monitors, turned around in her seat at the group with a smile.

"Well done, soldiers. We've stopped the Netherrealm invasion before it ever began."

Cassie simply shrugged while giving a smirk. "It's what we do," she said with a confident tone.

Johnny laughed while agreeing, "Yeah, we already beat their leader! Funny how they thought they ever stood a chance."

The entire team was ready to celebrate what seemed to be a new era of peace but Raiden stepped inbetween all of them. "This isn't time for celebration," he said, "though we have taken care of the Netherrealm, we still have more threats to Earthrealm to worry about. Outworld should be our next priority. It is only a matter of time before they invade us, so we should invade them first."

Everyone remained silent after Raiden's suggestion. Quietly staring at each other awkwardly, trying to avoid eye contact with the thundergod.

Cassie was the first to break the silence by ribbing Raiden, "Good one, Raiden. I never took you for such a jokester."

Raiden turned back at her, his red eyes penetrating her very soul.

"I am not joking," he said in a rather intimidating and stern voice, "Outworld has always been Earthrealm's greatest threat. The easily manipulated coward that currently leads it is a liability not only to his realm, but ours. He must be disposed as soon as possible before his actions lead to casualties on our side."

Sonya stood up from her command chair and crossed her arms. The two locked eyes as Sonya said, "No way. An invasion on Outworld is out of the question. Kotal has promised to never invade Earthrealm again. There's no reason to backstab him like a bunch of cowards. I was with you on the Netherrealm, but if you try to force us into invading a realm that isn't a threat? Well, we might have some problems."

Raiden snarled at her, "We already have a problem! I am tired of living in fear! If we do not strike first, then we'll have another Outworld invasion. We must show them we will not be intimidated."

Johnny Cage stood by his ex-wife, "You heard the woman, Raiden. We are not helping you invade Outworld. We're a defensive program, not an offensive one."

"He's right," Jacqui chimed in, "if we attack Outworld, we're going down a bad path."

Raiden turned his back on them all. "So be it. If the Special Forces will not help me, then don't try to hinder me either. You will make a great enemy if you do." Raiden disappeared in a flash of red thunder after that.

Sonya sat back down, resting her head in her arms. "For once can't we just have peace? It seems like whenever we put down one threat, another more pressing one appears to take it's place."

Cassie wrapped her arm around her mother's shoulder, hoping to comfort her in this trying moment.

"With my dad retired, Kung Jin returning to the White Lotus, and Takeda resuming his duties in the Shirai Ryu I don't think we'll have enough people to help us fight against Raiden either," Jacqui said.

Johnny sighed, "That just leaves you and me now, Sonya. The last people remaining since Outworld's first invasion. I always thought if any of us were next to be corrupted, it was me. Not Raiden. Never once did I think it'd be him."

Sonya clenched her fist, "We should have seen this coming sooner. He went around carrying Shinnok's amulet like it was a toy, dressed in black, and used red lightning."

"You're right," Johnny replied, "we really should have, but I guess we didn't want to accept that he had gone bad. We all loved that guy, right?"

"Well...yeah," Cassie said, "we did. He was like a mentor. We could always count on him for having our backs. He didn't always do things right but he did try. I'll admit it, I was hoping this weird goth thing was just a phase. Guess not, huh?"

It seemed that this might actually be the end of the Special Forces. Everyone was moving on. Cassie seemed almost hurt by this. While they were essentially soldiers, she felt a very close bond to everyone apart of it. Jax was gone, Takeda was gone, Jin was gone, and now so was Raiden. Not only was Raiden gone, he has now become their enemy. While not technically apart of the Special Forces, being a God and all, his close association with the group made it feel like he was. He was just as much apart of it as anyone else. The only one left not part of her family was Jacqui.

Yet, even she could feel a wedge between her and Jacqui's relationship. She might not have shown it, but Jacqui's father retiring had a major effect on her. Was she ready to take on the work her father did? The same work that took away his arms? Even more, was she willing to do it without Takeda?

Cassie looked at Jacqui, who gave an insincere smile while saying, "We'll still stick together, no matter what." Cassie awkwardly chuckled, "Heh, yeah. No breaking us apart."

Johnny and Sonya could feel the tension but remained silent. Afraid that if they spoke up, they'd only screw things up. They shared a glance between each other, both of their faces making a similar expression of unsure worry.

Luckily, or unluckily depending on your perspective, this awkward silence would be interrupted when they heard something in the basement of the underground base. Cassie took this chance to run downstairs to see what the commotion was.

Sonya got up from her command chair to chase after her. "Cassandra Cage! Stand down right now! This is an order! You're not allowed down there!"

Cassie didn't listen, she didn't care. Anything to distract from the currently uncomfortable subject. What she needed to distract from this right now was to pummel whatever was down there.

What she saw when she entered it was a shock. It looked like a cyborg Lin Kuei member with gray armor. She was wondering what it was doing down there until she noticed a Special Forces logo on it's shoulder. She then saw an operating table with broken restraints. Whatever this was, it was a Special Forces project.

Sonya came rushing down after her daughter. She gasped when she saw the android, "Oh no! It escaped!"

"Excuse me, but what the hell is _it_," Cassie asked while backing away from it as it approached closer.

"We recovered spare parts of a Cyber Lin-Kuei warrior and used them alongside our own parts to make a complete automaton. No human parts required. With the Special Forces' numbers dwindling, we thought it might be nice to have some truly expendable troopers in the form of these robots. I wasn't completely on-board with the project but the government insisted we continued on with it. I'm not sure how this one came to life, though. We haven't programmed any kind of AI into it."

The android collapsed onto it's knees as it held it's head in what looked to be pain. Both mother and daughter stood back, unsure of what to expect. The automaton stood back up as it's eyes glowed a bright blue. It continued stepping towards them with it's hand outreached, slowly stumbling forward always on the verge of falling but catching itself before collapsing.

Cassie, thinking on instinct, kicked the thing right in the face. The robot slammed back into the operating table it broke free from. It snarled violently, getting back up from the operating table. It then simply spoke, "I live."

"Yeah? Not for long," Cassie said while shooting the thing. All of the bullets simply bounced off of it's armor. It grabbed her pistol and snapped it in half effortlessly. It then grabbed her wrist but Sonya intervened by uppercutting it.

The android went flying through the air, slamming onto a different table with all kinds of tools. It grabbed a wrench, flinging it at the two women.

It tried escaping after this, but Sonya tackled it onto the ground. She repeatedly punched it in the face before it grabbed her first. It tossed her aside like she was nothing. She went back in for the attack but the robot simply raised it's hand, as if to tell her to stop.

"General Blade, please stand down. Though I am uncertain what has caused me to activate, I am no threat to you."

Cassie laughed, "Cool! It's not a Terminator, it's a Johnny-5!"

"Correct, Ms. Cage. I am made to serve the Special Forces, so that is what I shall do."

"I apologize. There must be some reason you were prematurely activated," Sonya said. "Even weirder is how you've quickly developed AI. An advanced AI at that."

"I simply felt a signal. That is all I can tell you. I cannot even trace where it came from."

Cassie turned to her mom, "A mysterious signal? Great. Just what we needed to hear."

"Yeah, I don't like the sound of that at all," Sonya responded. "Whatever it might be, it's a low priority. We must stop Raiden first."

"I get your concern over Raiden but I think that if something can somehow tell our super secret android over there to come to life, we might want to take it more seriously. I mean, obviously, right?"

"Alright, you raise a fair point. You and I will infiltrate Raiden's Sky Temple to see what he's up to. Your father and Jacqui can investigate whatever sent out that signal."

"And what shall I do," the android asked.

"You can go with Jacqui and Johnny. You might be able to track the location of that signal if you get closer to it. By the way you got a preferred name, soldier?"

The android nodded, "Yes. You can call me Triborg."

Sonya started walking back up the stairs, "Alright, Triborg, it's time for you to go on your first mission! Let's get this show on the road!"

* * *

_And so ends another chapter. This one took a little longer to do than the last ones since I wasn't sure of the clear direction of it. The previous chapters were all pretty easy to figure out but I struggled a little here. However, the next chapter will hopefully come sooner since it'll obviously take place in the Sky Temple. No promises, though._

_I'm also working off of the assumption that Triborg isn't canon to MKX so I decided to change him up for this. I thought it'd be interesting if the good guys had a cyborg ninja on their side (even if he isn't a cyborg.) I hope you all like this decision._

_Another good question, MKDemigodZ-Warrior. I'm going to take the approach that the games do and say that the comics are in a sort of Schrödinger's canon. Think of it as similar to the old Star Wars Expanded Universe situation. The comics are canon to this story unless contradicted, in which case this story supercedes the comics. So they are canon, but only in broad strokes. Very loosely. And while yes, the main headquarters of Sektor was destroyed alongside all of the cyborgs by Cyrax's self-destruct sequence, who's to say that Sektor didn't have back-ups? I mean, he'd be silly not to, right? That's what Frost found. She found a hidden compound with a small number of deactivated back-up cyborgs. Ones that were unaffected by Cyrax's commands since they were shut-off and possibly even on a different network. It would be silly if Sektor just had his literal entire robot army on one entire easily hacked and controlled network. Sektor surely archived his cloning process there too, so it'd be fairly simple for Frost to quickly and efficiently rebuild the army. Also, who's to say that Sektor wouldn't have even more hideouts throughout Earthrealm? I think it's possible. Sure, Sub-Zero wouldn't allow them to survive but he didn't think they did. Kuai thought the Cyber Lin-Kuei, now dubbed the Tekunin, were all destroyed with Cyrax. This is why Frost's surprise attack was such a shock. He genuinely thought that the entirety of Sektor's armory was destroyed. Does this sound contrived? I'm sorry if it does. I don't mean for it to, but that's the explanation there. If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask. I'm always happy to answer._


	5. Rage of the Thundergod

The Sky Temple had changed since Raiden's corruption. While it was always storming, now the storm was more fierce. The wind was constantly whipping around in wildly different and unpredictable directions. Thunderstrikes were more frequent as the rain poured down heavily. Anyone who wasn't Raiden himself would have a hard time making it through the storm.

This was the struggle of Hanzo Hasashi. Raiden had invited him to his home so that they could discuss something. It seemed the Thundergod wanted the Shirai Ryu's assistance. He didn't specify what for, but who was he to deny Raiden? After all if the Shirai Ryu could get in the Thundergod's favor it'd be a quick way to establish their clan as a force for good, rather than the group of assassins they had been before Hanzo's reformation.

The trek to the Sky Temple was an arduous one. It was difficult to retain balance on the constantly wet ground. Just when it seemed like Hanzo had regained his footing, the wind began blowing in the opposite direction and it'd nearly knock him down.

Hanzo had decided to go solo for this mission. He knew that this journey would be dangerous. As much as Takeda wanted to go, Hanzo knew he couldn't. His instincts would prove correct as the Shirai Ryu warrior was suddenly lashed forward by a massive wind tunnel. Try as he might, he couldn't fight back as the gust carried him. He could barely see, it was so fast. When it stopped, he found himself at the gates of the Sky Temple.

The monks once seen around the area were gone. All of them. The statues that decorated the outside were left as little more than piles of rubble. The candles that surrounded the statues were either melted entirely or just unlit. Hanzo stood back up, making his way through the gateway. The more he looked around, the more uneasy he felt.

He stepped into the temple, seeing Raiden waiting for him. Hanzo bowed, "Lord Raiden. You have requested my presence?"

"Hanzo, I'm glad that you could make it. I'm afraid that I need your help. You see, the Special Forces have turned on me. I fear that Kotal Kahn is mounting an attack against Earthrealm but they refuse to listen to reason. Your clan is my sole hope. We must attack Outworld before they attack us. It's the only way."

"Excuse me? I don't know about that, I'm trying to avoid making the Shirai Ryu a clan of hitmen like they were before...I'd prefer if we kept to defensive operations."

"But this is defensive! Hanzo, I know that it might seem drastic but to be one of the good guys...you must take a hard stance against those who would harm our realm. You need to make the hard decisions. I know you're apprehensive. Why shouldn't you be? After all, I was the one who told you to spare the elder Sub-Zero so many years ago but I can now see that was a mistake."

"You're speaking like a madman, Lord Raiden. What I did to the original Sub-Zero was wrong! I cannot do this, I'm afraid I'll lapse..."

Raiden calmly reassured Hanzo, "What you did wrong is that you didn't kill him sooner. You let Quan-Chi's manipulations worm into him just as it did you. And think about what you did with Quan-Chi! You killed him before he could do anymore harm."

"And it was wrong! I have forsaken every single one of those revenants to damnation because of what I did!"

"Please. You did what was right. It was a hard decision I imagine, you had to decide which was more important. You might have deluded yourself into thinking it was just about simple revenge, but it was more than that. It wasn't a selfish decision, it was a selfless one! You had forsaken your few friends, but think of the many lives you saved in the process. You prevented anyone else from falling to Quan-Chi's machinations, thus avoiding more people becoming like Scorpion or those revenants!"

"But if I had just waited a little bit longer..."

"Longer for what? Just so Quan-Chi could escape? With just one action, you ended a vicious monster's long reign of evil. Think of how many deaths I could have prevented if I had just killed Shao Kahn earlier..." Raiden grabbed Hanzo by the shoulders with a warm smile on his face, "You have a chance for you and your clan to be heroes. Real heroes. Not like those pretenders at the Special Forces."

Hanzo looked up at Raiden, then down to the ground. He pondered Raiden's proposition. Maybe he was right? Preventing an invasion before it even started might save many lives. At the same time, it could start a needless war where lives are thrown away without purpose. It could end with his clan massacred by Outworld forces or it could end with him truly earning his redemption. Hanzo's eyes met Raiden, who was still smiling.

"You know what, Lord Raiden?"

Hanzo backhanded Raiden, flinging the Thundergod onto the floor, "I refuse to be your lackey. Quan-Chi already manipulated me, I won't fall for these same tricks again!"

Raiden hovered back up as his smile turned to a deep scowl. He grabbed hold of Shinnok's amulet with one hand and began to electrocute Hanzo with the other.

"If you are not with me, then you're an enemy of Earthrealm."

Red electricity surged throughout Hanzo's body. He collapsed as he screamed out in pain, the sensation of burning being even worse than that of the very deepest pits of the Netherrealm. He couldn't do anything as his body spasmed around violently. He simply begged Raiden to stop, but Raiden only brought on even more lightning in response.

That's when Sonya and Cassie dropped down from the ceiling, Cassie dropkicking Raiden as she went down. Normally she'd be cracking a joke after that, but fighting a close family friend didn't bring her much joy.

Sonya helped Hanzo back up, his body still smoking from the lightning. "Are you alright," she asked.

"I've been through worse," he said in response, unsheathing a katana from the scabbards on his hip. The three of them stood before Raiden, ready to fight him.

Raiden flew up in the air, holding the amulet of Shinnok high. A flurry of green and red lightning shot out from it in all directions. Many streams of it nearly hit Cassie, but Sonya dived in the way. It was a direct hit, sending her flying out the door

Cassie watched as her own mother was possibly killed by Raiden. Thinking irrationally, she pulled out both of her pistols and began shooting at the Thundergod while screaming. It didn't matter what she hit, she just wanted to hit him where it hurt. Many of the bullets were deflected by the barrage of electricity, but two stray bullets managed to cross through. One bullet hit Shinnok's amulet out of Raiden's hand, stopping the lightning. The other bullet hit Kronika's amulet, tearing it right from Raiden's chest.

Raiden hit the floor. He scrambled towards both amulets, but Hanzo stepped on his hand while pointing his katana towards his throat. However, something began to happen. The power of the two amulets had been invoked at the same time accidentally.

Indeed, it could be felt throughout all the realms. Fighters from the past were being brought to the present. The first sign of this was Hanzo getting socked in the back of the head. When he turned around, he saw himself standing in front of him. Well, it wasn't exactly himself but it was rather Scorpion. Hanzo gasped, "Wha-? No! But how?!"

Scorpion simply grabbed Hanzo by his vest and slammed him into a wall, "Hanzo Hasashi is dead! I won't allow you to impersonate him!"

Hanzo tried to explain himself but Scorpion kneed him right in the stomach. "Who are you?! Why do you taunt me?!"

Hanzo was finally able to explain, "I _am_ Hanzo Hasashi! Grandmaster of the Shirai Ryu. I let go of my anger and hatred to become someone better!"

Scorpion snarled, "Hanzo was weak. Killed by a Lin Kuei dog! I will insure he is killed again!" Scorpion nearly impaled Hanzo with his kunai, but Hanzo ducked beneath it and tripped his past self up. Using this moment, he began to run. He could try to fight, but this was all too much for him to process at the moment.

Just outside, Cassie was kneeling down next to her mother. She could still feel a pulse, but it was weak. Sonya was on the verge of death.

"I can't believe he'd hurt you like this, mom. I can't believe he almost hurt me like that! If you didn't dive in the way, I'd be in your situation right now."

Cassie looked back towards the Sky Temple with her clenched fist.

"I'll get him back for this. Didn't want it to come to this, but he definitely crossed the line. I won't let him do this to anybody else!"

Hanzo came running out from the temple, "Ms. Cage! We have to hurry! We must meet with the Special Forces immediately!"

Cassie nodded with a firm expression on her face while she saluted, "Right!"

The Cassie picked up the comatose body of her mother and the two escaped from Raiden's wrath.

Raiden watched them run without even lifting a finger.

"Let them run. Those cowards will get what's coming to them sooner or later."

He redirected his attention to the time displaced Scorpion. Raiden folded his hands, "Yes, you'll do nicely. I can return you to your time period, Scorpion. Even more than that?"

He picked up both Kronika's and Shinnok's amulets, "Using the power of time I possess, I might even be able to bring back your family. Only if you promise to help me in my quest to destroy all those in my way."

The undead spectre didn't even have to think about his answer. As soon as he heard that Raiden could bring back his family, he agreed, "I will do it."

"I will hold you to that, Scorpion. Our first agenda? Head to Outworld. Warn them that if they do not step into line, there will be consequences. Slaughter them, if we must."

A portal to Outworld opened and the two stepped inside.

* * *

As this happened, Kronika and Shinnok were planning what was next. During the middle of their conversation, she felt a strong disturbance in the timestream.

"Shinnok! It's happening! I can feel it! The multiple points within the timeline are converging within this present point of time."

"Yes! Just as we hoped it would! It seems that letting Raiden have both your and my amulet has paid off! Just as you had foreseen!"

"All of these points clashing together at once will create a great weakness in the flow of time, allowing us to completely reshape it into our vision!" Kronika embraced Shinnok as the two laughed joyously while hovering in the air.

"All these millenia in planning finally coming to a head," Shinnok said, "Soon, the flow of time will be weak enough for us to mold like clay."

"It won't be that much longer. It's simply a matter of time."

* * *

_Just a sidenote, the next two or so chapters won't be continuations of this chapter. They'll be taking placing concurrently with __**this **__chapter. Don't worry, I'll put up a little note in the beginning of each one so that you'll know this._

_MKDemigodZ-Warrior: Thanks for the kind words! I decided not to show the raid since it happens the same as in MK11 for the most part and I feel it's pretty unimportant to the main plot. Sorry to hear you're disappointed about that, though. It's the same two year gap as in the actual game, by the way._

_As always reviews, favorites, and follows are appreciated but not necessary! Thanks for reading, I'll catch you in the next chapter!_

_Oh hey, I'm uploading this on Christmas. Well, have a Merry Christmas to all those reading this!_


	6. The Machine's Conflict

_Just a little sidenote before we get started, this chapter takes place at the same time as the previous chapter._

* * *

The harsh, cold winds of Arktica were quite unforgiving. However, both Jacqui and Johnny knew that if anybody would know what could have possibly activated Triborg prematurely, it was Sub-Zero. The Lin Kuei compound wasn't much farther, they had to weather the storm.

And storming, it was. They could barely see ahead of them between the wind and the blizzard. Luckily, Triborg knew the exact coordinates of the location so he was the one flying their ship. He didn't need to see to be able to get there.

Throughout the entire trip, there wasn't much conversation going on. Quite unusual considering Johnny Cage was there. It wasn't too surprising, though. While they were partners who had a great deal of respect for each other, Jacqui and Johnny were at best mere acquaintances. Of course Johnny liked his daughter's best friend and Jacqui definitely appreciates the man who helped save his father from being Quan-Chi's puppet but there just wasn't enough interaction between just the two of them.

Jacqui was the first to break the silence, "Hey Johnny, can I say something?"

"What's stoppin' ya? Go ahead," Johnny replied.

"I just wanted to say that I honestly don't think you get enough respect."

Johnny lowered his sunglasses with a smirk, "You know, sucking up to your superior officer won't get you a higher position."

Jacqui chuckled, "I'm being serious! You kicked Shinnok's ass and then helped raise the girl who kicked his ass again! You've taught us alot. Without you, I probably wouldn't have met Takeda either. Just thought I'd voice some appreciation."

"You really mean that? Well gosh, kid. I don't know what to say," Johnny replied while scratching the back of his head.

"You don't have to say anything. Sorry if this comes across as awkward, it's just...well you were the only one who believed in us and brought us together. I really wanted to thank you, even if it seems like our group isn't holding together quite as well as I'd like."

Johnny's smirk to a more solemn half smile, "That's just the passage of time, I'm afraid. Things change. Just be glad that everyone who's leaving the team has left as a friend rather than an enemy."

Triborg then chimed it, "We have arrived at the Lin Kuei temple. T-minus ten seconds until we land."

The ship landed in the back, where Lin Kuei ninjas were training under Smoke. Smoke watched as the jet landed in the back, suspicious but remaining calm. Johnny walked out from the jet, followed by Jacqui and Triborg.

Smoke was initially happy to see Johnny, knowing he was an ally, but the android standing behind him made Smoke quite uneasy. Especially with what happened not too long ago. Still, he greeted them with enthusiasm and a polite bow, "Ahh! Johnny Cage, what brings you here?"

"I was hoping to speak with Sub-Zero, if he wouldn't mind. Something has happened at the Special Forces base that has us worried."

Smoke nodded once, motioning towards the students he was training to stop, "Take five, students. If the Special Forces are here, it must be a truly pressing matter."

He led them into the compound. Smoke tried to avoid asking the obvious question but he couldn't help himself. He looked to Johnny and asked, "Why is that cyborg with you?"

Johnny gulped, just now realizing that taking a cyborg ninja looking robot would invariably cause issues. "Well, you see, he's the reason we're here. He's not a cyborg, he's an android. The Special Forces' is seeing a downturn in recruitment and many of the ones we do have are leaving so we wanted to see if we could create robots to replace them. Something or someone activated this prototype too early. We thought if anybody would know what the problem is, it'd be the Lin Kuei."

Smoke gasped, his eyes going wide as he completely stopped in his tracks. He knew EXACTLY what could have caused this.

"Uhhh, what's the problem, " Jacqui asked.

Smoke took a second to answer, "You see, Sub-Zero's former student has betrayed the Lin Kuei. She has overtaken the remnants of Sektor's cyborg army, remnants nobody even knew he had. It's very likely that she is the one who awakened your robot."

He quickly led them to Sub-Zero's chamber, now panicking over what might be unfolding. He slammed the doors open, "Kuai! Kuai! We have an update on Frost!"

Sub-Zero quickly stood up from his meditation, "An update?! From who?"

Johnny was about to speak up, but Triborg shoved him aside when it saw Sub-Zero. It stepped forward, growling angrily. Sub-Zero couldn't believe that another cyborg had somehow infiltrated the temple. At least, that's what it seemed like to him.

Smoke tried to intervene, but Triborg picked him up and threw him through the wall. Triborg turned back to Sub-Zero and flew towards him. The cryomancer slid under the android, uppercutting him from below. Triborg went into the ceiling and came crashing back onto the ground. It stood back up, grasping it's head in what seemed like agony. It convulsed spastically, screaming.

Johnny and Jacqui restrained the pained android, both of them not sure of what was going on. Triborg tried breaking free, but Sub-Zero luckily froze it where it stood from the legs down. The android calmed down, lowering it's head.

Sub-Zero was ready to tear the robot's head clean off but Johnny intervened, "Wait! That's not one of Sektor's cyborgs! It's one of ours!"

"You've created a cyborg?!"

"It's just an android actually and I, personally, didn't invent it," Johnny pointed out, missing Sub-Zero's point entirely.

"It doesn't matter. This thing just attacked me, why did you bring it here?"

"It didn't even lash out until it saw you," Jacqui said, "it's usually been well behaved otherwise."

Smoke stood back up from the hole created by the robot, "They're right. It was quiet before it saw you. They brought it here since it was prematurely activated and hoped we might know why. I fear that Frost might be behind it.""

"I am sorry," Triborg spoke out, "I could not control my impulses upon seeing Sub-Zero. Something...something overtook my systems. It told me to destroy him by any means necessary. I felt such hatred."

Sub-Zero looked to Triborg, "Interesting. This robot you've created seems to know enough about me to hate me."

"I do not hate you," Triborg replied, "but whatever overtook me did. Seeing you brings back vague memories. I cannot recall enough to know what those memories are, but I can recall the feelings. The feelings of resentment. These emotions, they prove..."

Triborg broke free from it's icy prison and picked Sub-Zero up by the neck as it's eyes turned red, "...overwhelming."

Sub-Zero struggled in the robot's grasp, kicking it away. He fell onto his hands and knees afterwards, coughing intensely.

Triborg was about to stomp on his back, but Johnny roundhouse kicked him before the robot could. Triborg was knocked back by this, but didn't fall down. Sub-Zero motioned for Johnny to move back, "I will do this myself. If this robot has a grudge, I will settle it."

Triborg charged at him. Sub-Zero grabbed him as soon as he got close enough. He wrapped his arm around Triborg's neck and began assaulting the android with a barrage of punches with his free hand. Each hit was strong enough to take away small chunks of metal upon impact. Triborg grabbed Sub-Zero by the waist with both of it's arms and began to squeeze. Sub-Zero kicked it away, sending it to the floor on it's back.

Triborg's eyes began to flash between red and blue. Each flash caused it to stiffly shift position. Soon, it was laying on it's stomach and reaching forward. A mechanical screech escaped it's vents. Everyone simply stared as this happened, completely unsure of what to do.

Finally, it's eyes turned back to blue. Triborg got back up, "Whatever it is, I can feel it overtaking me the longer I'm here with Sub-Zero. I will retreat to the ship. I apologize." Triborg retreated from the temple, not wanting to cause anymore trouble.

Sub-Zero watched the android closely as it escaped, "That thing, though it might be a robot, it fights like an animal. I've only seen such a ferocious fighting style once before."

Smoke nodded in agreement, "It has to be Frost."

Sub-Zero shook his head while crossing his arms, "I'm afraid it's much worse than Frost. Somehow, I fear that the mind of Sektor lives on in that automaton."

As everyone else looked shocked, Jacqui simply asked, "Uhhh, who's Sektor?"

"The first leader of the cyborg Lin Kuei," Sub-Zero began to explain, "I thought I had killed him, but it's possible that if he still had a cyborg army tucked away somewhere, who's to say he didn't create a back-up of his memories? And somehow, those memories have found their way inside of Triborg. The only man who hates me that much is Sektor."

"So, this Sektor guy is bad news?"

"Very bad. I'd suggest that we destroy that android as soon as possible...at least, I would. However, the AI itself is innocent. It's just been tainted by the remnants of Sektor. I just wonder how this could have happened..."

"Maybe the Special Forces accidentally downloaded Sektor's memory back-ups into the robot," Johnny suggested, "I think that the Lin Kuei cyborg parts that they used to reverse engineer Triborg had a bunch of data files in the memory banks."

"Of course! It only makes sense that Sektor would have his memory backed up on EVERY Lin Kuei cyborg. Spread it as far as possible, that way it has a stronger chance of surviving. If I may ask, where did you find those cyborg parts?"

"The Special Forces found them not too far from here, actually. One deprived of it's limbs and some parts of the exoskeleton. But the inside of the cyborg was mostly intact."

"That must be where Frost's hideout must be," Sub-Zero mumbled to himself. "Alright, I have a pro-" Before Sub-Zero could even finish his question, something bizarre happened. A bright white flash overtook the room. When it was over, Frost was standing in the room. Not cyborg Frost, but a human Frost.

She looked around the room, with a confused expression, "Wha...what happened?!"

Sub-Zero slowly approached her, "Frost? Is that really you? How do you look so human?"

She laughed at him, "What the hell are you talking about grandmaster? Last I checked, I was a human!" He pulled her in for a hug, extremely happy to see her like this. She embraced him at first but then shoved him away, "Hey whoa, why are you doing that?! And what are you wearing?"

Sub-Zero tilted his head, "This is what I've been wearing for the past year and a half. It's an ancestral armor I found in our mission to Outworld."

"It looks stupid. What's with the helmet and fluffy collar?"

Smoke then realized exactly what happened, "Wait! Kuai! Can't you see? It's what Kronika talked about! The timestream! She's from the past!"

Jacqui looked to Smoke, "Uhhhh, who's Kronika?"

Right as she asked that, Johnny got a call on his cellphone, "Hello? Cassie? What is it, pumpkin? What happened to your mom?! Don't worry, we're returning to the Special Forces base right now!"

Johnny grabbed Jacqui by the arm, "We have to hurry! Something's happened to Sonya!"

The two of them rushed off, not even saying goodbye. Smoke chased after them, "Wait! Hold on! We'll go with you!"

Sub-Zero motioned Frost forward, "We should probably go."

"Wait, you're taking me with you on a mission?"

"Of course I am. I trust you enough to."

Beneath her mask she was smiling, but she didn't show the joy this brought to her outwardly, "Might as well get going, then." The two of them went running after Smoke.

As they all left, something slinked into the Grandmaster's chamber accompanied by laughter that was no louder than a whisper. Covered entirely with shadow, it was Noob Saibot. It seemed he had been waiting for Sub-Zero to leave. Whether he was a time displaced warrior just like Scorpion and Frost could not be determined. Nor was it clear what his allegience was now.

"How far the Lin Kuei has fallen," he whispered to himself.

Two Lin Kuei warriors took notice to him. As they came to interrogate him, he simply sank into the floor and vanished. Whatever he might be after, wherever he came from, Noob's return only signaled the dark times ahead.

* * *

_This might've been one of the hardest chapters for me to begin. I'll admit, I'm not sure how to write Jacqui. I can't get a good feel for her character but I didn't want to write her out of the story either. So, I hope I'm doing at least a decent job with her. Her relationship with anyone who isn't Jax, Takeda, or Cassie seems a little underdeveloped so I thought it would have been a fun challenge to pair her with Johnny._

_MKDemigodZ-Warrior, I definitely gotta agree with what you said about Sonya. I wasn't mad that she died but the way she died was just embarrassing. She was just buried under some rocks, c'mon. They try to make it look like some kind of heroic sacrifice but it doesn't work. And in the first chapter of the story too, are you serious? It's just needless. I don't mind death in a story, but when it's needless and without any kind of impact it just leaves me feeling annoyed. I won't say Raiden's MKX ending will play a super important part, after all Shinnok and Kronika are the ultimate villains of the story, but I will say that I want to do something with it. They completely threw Dark Raiden away in the game, it's such a shame._

_The next chapter will be taking us into Outworld for the first time in this story, so keep an eye out for that one. As always, thanks for reading!_


	7. Empire's Fall

_Just like the previous chapter, this one takes place at roughly around the same time as chapter 5. With that out of the way, I hope you enjoy the story._

* * *

The Outworld colosseum was absolutely packed with hundreds of people in the audience. They were gathered there on the bright and sunny day to witness a public execution.

Kotal Kahn stood up from his throne with his arms raised. He looked to the audience and said, "Outworld! We are gathered today to witness the public execution of two of Outworld's greatest criminals!"

He cocked his head back, motioning for the gates to open. Out walked Kollector and Havik, being courted by tens of Kotal's most elite guards and shackled by dozens of chains to insure neither could escape.

Kotal stepped down from his throne and approached Kollector. He sneered at the greedy monster, "You are here for stealing from the people. Overcharging our taxes and pocketing some for yourself. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Kollector spit in his eyes, "You are a false king, Kotal. I am not overcharging, I am simply doing as I have done for ages now."

"Those were Shao Kahn's rules," Kotal reminded him as he wiped the spit from his eyes, "these are my rules. Shao's reign has been at an end for nearly 30 years now! Your loyalty to Shao Kahn is almost admirable, but highly foolish."

He then approached Havik. Kotal looked at cleric with particular disdain as he grabbed him by the chin, "As for you, your recent riots have resulted in many senseless deaths. I don't even know what you want from Outworld."

Havik simply laughed, "Neither do I! But know this, if you try to kill me, it won't work. Many have tried, all have failed. Should you succeed? Well, I'll certainly be impressed. Still, it'll be pointless. You might kill me, but you cannot kill what I represent. My ideas live on, even without m-"

Kotal socked Havik right in the jaw, "Silence! You _will_ die here, Havik. I can assure you of that. Even if I must chop you into bits, even if I must have those bits crushed into pools of blood, and then evaporated!"

"Temper, temper, my dear Kotal. You aren't acting like the leader your father would have wanted you to be."

Kotal grabbed Havik by his shoulder and slammed him onto his knees. He held a dagger high into the air, ready to impale Havik. "Let your reign of chaos come to an end!"

He ran the dagger through Havik's torso, blood spilling out from his back. Havik would smile, had he any lips to smile with. He smugly said to Kotal, "I told you! I would not be so simple to kill."

Kotal removed the blade from Havik's abdomen and placed it up against his head, "Then let's see how you survive th-"

Before Kotal could even finish his sentence, a bright white flash overtook the arena. When all was said and done, there were more people in the arena.

These people included a still living Jade, Baraka, Kung Lao, and most concerningly, Mileena. All four seemed to be quite shocked at how they were there.

Just as shocked was Kotal Kahn. He gasped, "Mileena?! This cannot be!" This surprise left Havik enough time to get the drop on Kotal. He leapt up into the air and drop kicked him, all while still restrained. In the chaos, Kollector broke free of his shackles and started assaulting as many of Kotal's guards he could.

Kotal tried to stand up but he was tackled by Mileena. She snarled at him, "I don't know what just happened, but I know that I'm going to kill you and take my rightful place on that throne!"

Jade appeared behind Mileena and cracked her in the back of the head with her staff. Mileena screamed in pain, rolling off of Kotal in her dazed state. Jade offered her hand to pick him up, "Need some assistance?"

He grabbed her hand and she pulled him up. "You seem familiar, do I know you?"

"I am Jade, servant of Shao Kahn."

"Jade, of course! Bodyguard to the former princess, Kitana. I believe we've met a few times before. I am Kotal. Though now, I am now known as Kotal Kahn."

"Ahh yes, one of Shao Kahn's generals! But if you are Kahn, then what has happened to Shao Kahn?"

It was at this moment Kotal realized what has happened, "You...you are from the past! Somehow, you have travelled forward in time!"

Taking advantage of the situation, Havik broke free of his restraints and approached Kotal's throne. He stood atop it, looking to the audience. They looked both confused and angry. He called out to them, "People of Outworld! Look at the poor job your leader has done! Not only have his guards failed to control those he has deemed as criminals, he cannot even properly dispose of his enemies! Kotal is a poor leader! I reach out to you, the people, to take control of your incompetent government! I especially reach out to you, the Tarkatans! Long has Kotal kept you in the wastelands of Outworld! Treated you as lower lifeforms! It is unfair, it is unjust! I say to you, fight back!"

Kotal's guards tried to stop him from riling up the crowds but Baraka, Kollector, and Mileena were proving too much for them.

Havik continued his speech, "And the Shokan! Look at how Kotal crippled your beloved crown prince like he was trash! He even killed the king! All while your current and corrupt queen simply sat back idly. Disgusting! Do not even let me get into the favortism he gives towards the oh so privileged Centaurs! Are you going to take this? No! Do what Goro would want you to do! Revolt like the proud warriors you should be!"

Havik's speech resonated with the audience as both Shokans and Tarkatans leapt down from the their seats. Charging through the now raging crowd was Kotal. He ran towards Havik, clotheslining him. Havik crashed through the throne. Kotal stomped on him repeatedly, "Your words are as empty as your motivations! I won't let you tear this realm apart again!"

Havik maniacally laughed while coughing up blood, "You've already done that yourself!"

Standing amidst the riot was a very confused Kung Lao. Last thing he could recall was being brutally beaten to near death by Shao Kahn. He thought he was going to die in that moment for his arrogance but he instead was teleported to the very same arena but at a very different time.

He looked at the fighting, unsure of what he was to do or why he was here in the first place. He was in no condition to battle anybody, not after the brutal beating he had taken. Making the situation even more confusing was when a bright red flash overtook the arena.

Kotal stopped stomping on Havik to look towards the sky and tiredly say, "Now what is it?"

Descending to the ground was Raiden. Waiting for him on the ground was Scorpion. Raiden's presence was enough to bring pause to the chaos. The fighting had stopped.

"Is that...Raiden?" Kung Lao said to himself, squinting at the Thundergod.

Raiden approached Kotal, not breaking eye contact with him. Kotal smiled, "Lord Raiden! What a pleasant surprise! To what do I owe this visit?"

Raiden, without missing a beat, simply backhanded Kotal. The emperor hit the sand, lying on his back. He tried standing back up, but this was met with Raiden sending bolts of red electricity at Kotal. Kotal screamed in agony, completely taken aback by the surprise attack.

Kotal's guards tried to stop Raiden, but Scorpion intervened. He quickly disposed of every single one of them. Kotal reached out to Raiden, "This...this is against the laws of Mortal Kombat! You cannot kill me! The Elder Gods will not allow it!"

Raiden pulled back, his lightning stopping. He looked down on the cowering emperor with disgust, "You seem mistaken, Kotal. I do not play by the Elder Gods' rules anymore. If those worms wish to stop me, they can do it themselves."

"How can you even use these abilities in Outworld? You should be weakened here!"

Raiden held up Shinnok's Amulet, "This is how."

"But...but why?! I never really wanted to hurt Earthrealm. When we invaded, we were forced to by Shinnok! I thought we could now have peace!"

"You're a coward," Raiden plainly said, "a sniveling weakling. Your existence alone is a threat to Earthrealm. Therefore, you must die for Earthrealm to have peace. This does not bring me joy, but it's what must be done."

Now holding the Amulet towards Shinnok, Raiden began to shoot out green lightning at Kotal. Kotal's pained cries grew louder but Raiden's demeanor did not change. He was unmoving, unflinching. He was dedicated to his cause, no matter the costs.

That's when Kung Lao intervened. He threw his hat at Raiden, causing the Thundergod's stream of lightning to cease. Kotal took this chance to crawl away. Raiden stared Kung Lao down, "And so we have someone else from another time. It's been a long time, Kung Lao."

"What has happened to you, Lord Raiden? This isn't you!"

"I have become what I had to. I tire of the fighting, Kung Lao. I tire of the needless deaths. It is always up to me to clean up the messes of other realms. I will have no more. If there can't be peace by pacifism, then there will be peace by force."

Lao took a kombat ready stance. Though he might be weak, he wouldn't stand for this.

Raiden scoffed at this, "Please. If Liu Kang could not defeat me, what makes you think you have any chance? You always were his arrogant inferior. Don't make me kill you."

Lao charged at him and he wasn't alone. Many others from the once fractured crowd were right beside him. Raiden simply gripped Shinnok's Amulet and a barrage of green lightning shot out in all directions, knocking _everyone_ to the ground. At this point, it was clear that nobody there stood a chance of fighting him head-on. He was simply too strong.

The hundreds of people began to evacuate the colosseum. Many were stomping and trampling each other to get out. The barrage of lightning continued, killing many. Kung Lao, Kotal Kahn, Havik, and Jade were one of few to actually escape into the Outworld wastelands. It was there that they would hide, until they figured out some kind of plan to actually stop the now mad Thundergod.

When the dust settled, the only ones left alive in the arena were Kollector, Mileena, Baraka, and Skarlet. Kollector was the first to bow to Raiden, "All hail the new ruler of Outworld!" He groveled at Raiden's feet, even kissing them, which did nothing but earn the Thundergod's indifference.

Baraka was the next to bow, "If you truly mean to bring peace, then perhaps the Tarkata can finally be freed of Kotal's tyranny."

Skarlet followed directly after, "Your strength is admirable, far stronger than Kotal Kahn could ever wish to be. I gladly pledge my allegience to you. May you be the one to unite Outworld."

Mileena looked to the others and crossed her arms, "You are no leader of Outworld! You killed Shao Kahn, robbing us of our true ruler! I will never bow to the likes of you!"

Raiden placed his hand on Mileena's shoulder, his gaze penetrating her very soul, "You misunderstand. I do not wish to rule Outworld. When all is said and done, I will give it to you."

Everyone seemed shocked at this turn of events. Skarlet spoke up, "But she has proven herself to be an unfit leader! You would be so much better!"

Raiden directed his attention towards her, "Silence! I have spoken! For now, I will lead. However, once Kotal is dead, Mileena will be your Queen."

Mileena laughed, "Yes! At long last, I will have the throne that I deserve!"

Raiden chose Mileena to lead once Kotal was dead because he felt she would be an easily manipulated stooge. The perfect puppet ruler for him to control from behind the scenes. If she stepped out of line? It'd be all too easy for him to kill her.

While Mileena felt that working with the god who slaughtered her father was almost sacrilege, she knew that she had no real control over anyone at this point. This was her best chance to continue the legacy of Shao Kahn. So she accepted this with glee.

Raiden snapped his fingers, "Skarlet! Baraka! Head to Kotal's fortress! Tell everyone there they will either join me or they will die." The two nodded, heading away at once. He looked out towards the Outworld wastelands, "Kotal may try to delay the inevitable, but it will always come. Your death is coming, emperor. Make the most of your time."

* * *

_This chapter surely leaves a few questions. Let me address two of them. "Where's Reptile/Ermac/Ferra/Torr/Erron?" They are all currently at Kotal's fortress. Kotal didn't think the execution would escalate the way it did so he only had Skarlet with him. If only he thought to bring a more loyal subject, right?_

_The second question is, "Why didn't you bring Shao Kahn back like the game did?" A good question! I love Shao Kahn, I think he's a great villain, but I feel that if he were here he would surely overshadow any of the villains in the story right now. I also don't want to repeat the mistake of MK11. Don't want to have him going out like a bitch in like, two chapters from now since I need dispose of him to make way for the more plot centric villains._

_MKDemigodZ-Warrior, you see I...errr, good point? Wow, I really wanted to put Johnny questioning how Smoke was even there at some point but I guess I forgot to insert it as I was writing. Thought I did too, even if only briefly. I even wanted to have Smoke question who Jacqui is since he almost certainly wouldn't know who she is. Unfortunately, I forgot. Chalk this one up to writer error. Completely my mistake. Sorry about that. Maybe you could say that since the events of MK9 were so long ago at this point his memory's beginning to fade, especially of people who he wasn't really close to, but even I'll admit that's a major stretch. Since this chapter takes place in Outworld, I wasn't able to address this in-story but in the next one I will._

_And to everyone else leaving reviews, thank you so much! I appreciate every single one them! It's been a long time since I've gotten so many consistent reviews for one of my fanfics. If anyone has any questions, don't be afraid to ask. I'm always willing to answer._


	8. Attack on the Special Forces

Johnny, Jacqui, Triborg, Sub-Zero, Smoke, and Frost returned to the Special Forces headquarters. An emergency had popped up.

The five of them came running into the central hub of the headquarters, where they saw Cassie, Hanzo, and Johnny Cage. A second Johnny Cage, in fact.

The older Johnny stopped in his tracks when he saw the second Cage. His eyes went wide, "Uhhh, excuse me? What's going on here!?"

The second Cage got up, placing a bag of chips on the desk. He walked up to the other one and offered a handshake, "Sup, man?"

Now that he had a closer look, the first Johnny could see that this second Johnny was clearly younger than him. His hair was darker, his clothes were brighter, and he was overall less wrinkled. It became clear that he was another straggler from out of time.

When the older Johnny looked at Cassie with a confused expression, she just shrugged, "I don't know, he was here when I got here!"

The older Johnny simply sidestepped his younger counterpart, causing him to say,"Wow, rude. Do I become an asshole in the future or somethin'?" He ribbed the person nearest to him, who happened to be Sub-Zero. Kuai met him with an unamused glance.

"Oof, cold audience," the younger Cage said with a grin. This admittedly got a small chuckle out of Sub-Zero, much to the embarrassment of Frost.

Older Johnny sat down next to Cassie and placed his hand on her shoulder, "Tell me everything that happened while you were spying on Raiden."

"We happened to arrive just before Hanzo did. He was trying to get the Shirai Ryu to join him, but he refused. When he began to murder Hanzo, we just couldn't let him do it. So, we fought Raiden. Not even the three of us were enough and he...he put mom in a coma."

Johnny remained silent when he heard that. He didn't know what to say. What could he say to that? The feelings he had been bottling up for years were ready to burst. It was no secret that Johnny still felt love for Sonya. He didn't act on these feelings, though. He thought that she wouldn't have him back after he broke it off with her. He was consumed with this feeling of fear, fear that she might die before he had a chance to give their relationship a second chance.

"You alright, dad," she asked.

"I'm...I'm fine, pumpkin. I shouldn't have let you two go alone. I should have known that he really meant business."

That's when the younger Cage interrupted, "Uhhh, excuse me, but you're saying Raiden put Sonya into a coma? We needed to spy on Raiden in the first place?! Not to mention that this chick that looks like Sonya is my daughter?!"

The older Johnny glared at his counterpart for interrupting and simply answered, "Yes." The younger Johnny could see that everyone was staring at him rather intensely so he decided to shut up.

Cassie resumed their conversation, "It's not your fault. You couldn't have known that Raiden had become a monster like that. Nobody who knew him could have."

"His invasion on Outworld has certainly already begun," Hanzo added, "if we want to prevent anymore damage, we had better hurry."

Smoke agreed with Hanzo, "Raiden's attack on Outworld can't be allowed to get too far. No matter what it takes."

Johnny looked at Smoke, "Hey, wait, I just noticed you! Weren't you a revenant? How'd you come back?"

"He was brought back by an Elder God," Sub-Zero explained, "she brought him back to help us."

Jacqui seemed rather incredulous to this claim, "An Elder God? Really? Those jerks never intervene, why would they ever decide to help now?"

That's when Kronika finally appeared to the Special Forces, "We have decided to intervene now since Raiden poses the greatest threat to the realms yet. Even greater than Shinnok or Shao Kahn. From his meddling with time to now taking over Outworld, he has become a major liability."

Johnny was baffled, "Well son of a bitch, I can't believe that the Elder Gods are finally taking a proactive role in the situation for once."

"Unfortunately, my nature precludes me from stopping him directly," Kronika admitted, "this is why I sought the help of the Lin Kuei. I now seek the help of the Special Forces. I think that you are the only ones who can stop Raiden. If you help me, I can pay you back. I brought back Smoke, perhaps I can help with Sonya Blade as well."

"I would appreciate that very much," Cassie replied.

"It's a lot to ask, but stopping Raiden will involve killing him. I understand if you have hesitation, but he cannot be allowed to live."

Johnny accepted this, "It'll be hard, but the Raiden we knew died in the Jinsei Chamber with Shinnok. This isn't the same guy. If this is what it takes..."

"Thank you." After that, Kronika vanished. It was then that everyone knew what had to be done. They had to head to Outworld to kill the Thunder God.

Johnny pointed to Frost, Sub-Zero, Cassie, Jacqui, and his younger counterpart, "You five, you'll head to Outworld. Sub-Zero, I trust that you'll make a fine leader."

Sub-Zero firmly nodded, "We will not disappoint. I'm certain that our forces combined with Kotal's will be enough to put an end to the mad god."

"That's what I like to hear."

Johnny was uncertain of sending his younger counterpart in his place, VERY uncertain, but he knew that he had to stay behind to keep watch over the Special Forces' base. So, if he couldn't go, at least his past counterpart could.

He watched as the five of them walked into a massive metal circle with a swirling vortex. This was an experimental gateway, one that would allow them to enter Outworld. All they had to do to return was to press a button on a remote clipped to their belts. They would instantly be thrown back through the gateway. It would be a perfect escape just in case things got too serious.

He waved each of them off as they disappeared into the portal, all except for his past self. When they were gone, the portal shut down. Johnny was hopeful that they'd be able to stop Raiden. Cassie defeated Shinnok, or at least that's what Johnny thought. She also had a whole experienced team backing her up.

Now that he had the time, he walked into the Special Forces' medical facilities. That's where he saw Sonya, lying on one of the beds. He placed his hand on her's and removed his sunglasses. He silently reflected on their time together. This was the first time Johnny could recall feeling so distressed. Someone could certainly argue that he was in more troubling situations, but he always took to them with a cocky bravado no matter how bad it got. This time was different. This was a situation completely out of his control and he had no idea how to handle it.

His quiet mourning would be quickly interrupted by an explosion that shook the entire Special Forces facility. He put back on his sunglasses and ran out the door. He made his way outside, in the harsh desert. He saw Smoke, Hanzo, and Triborg were already out there.

What they saw was troubling. It wasn't just a cyborg army, it wasn't just the forces of the Netherrealm, it was both at the same time. They were being led by the duo of Frost and Noob Saibot.

Both pointed forward and the horde charged towards the four heroes. They were hopelessly outnumbered, but they charged right back anyway.

Hanzo took on the Brotherhood of Shadow, Smoke and Triborg took on the cyborgs, and Johnny was trying to fend off both.

Triborg quickly disposed of multiple of the disposable soldiers. "You are nothing but pale imitations," he stated as he tossed one towards a dozen others. However, something began to take over as more cyborgs surrounded him. His eyes turned red, causing all of the cyborg's eyes to do the same. Then cyborgs all stopped.

Frost growled at them suddenly freezing, "What do you think you're doing?!"

Triborg laughed, "I must thank you for bringing my army back to me, girl. But you have outlived your usefulness. Submit or die."

"I submit to no one!"

"Then you have chosen death," Triborg replied, slowly pointing the horde of cyborgs towards her.

Smoke was quick to recognize what was happening, "Sektor...!"

Triborg fell on his knees and collapsed. The mind of Sektor manifested into another cyborg in the crowd, one that was practically invisible considering how many there were.

"Now I am free," Sektor gloated, "free of Triborg's foolish AI trying to overtake my memories! Sektor has returned!"

"You...you've turned my cyborg army against me! How can this be," Frost said.

"It was never your cyborg army to begin with! It was your folly in thinking that it was!"

Noob instantly sided with Sektor on this, sending a faction of the Brotherhood of Shadow after Frost too.

"Traitor!" Frost screeched at the wraith.

"This is what I planned all along," Noob admitted with a coy sense of smugness, "Did everyone think Triborg activated himself or that Frost could have had something to do with it? Wrong! It was I who activated Triborg prematurely, all in the hopes that it would eventually lead Sektor's return! He's the only one who could actually lead the cyborg Lin Kuei army!"

"We are not the cyborg Lin Kuei," Sektor stated, "we are now the Tekunin! Stronger than the Lin Kuei! I shall give you one last chance, Frost. You can either join the Tekunin, serve as my apprentice, or I will kill you."

"I have told you," Frost said while aiming her sights at the cyborg Sektor's mind had chosen to inhabit, "I am nobody's apprentice anymore!"

She shot a missle from her chest directly at the cyborg, reducing it to mere pieces of scrap metal. However, Sektor's mind popped up in another cyborg, "I have transferred copies of my memory into every cyborg here. Everytime my core body is destroyed, my memory is set to activate in another. I am eternal, I am Sektor!"

To insure his continued existence, Sektor had six of the cyborgs fly away. Frost tried to shoot them down but she was only successful in taking down three of them.

Smoke offered out his hand, "Ready to join us now?"

Frost shot him down, "Never! I'd sooner die!"

"You just might," Hanzo interjected.

Noob yawned, "I tire of this drama. Geras! End this fight!"

Geras silently rose out from the sand, his face emotionless as he did.

The Tekunin and the Brotherhood backed away, forming a circle around Geras, Hanzo, Johnny, Frost, and Smoke. Frost, having nothing to do with this anymore, flew away. Noob and Sektor let her, no longer seeing her as any kind of threat.

Smoke vaguely recalled seeing Geras before in the Netherrealm but his memories from being a revenant were fuzzy at best. All he knew is that he was associated with Kronika, which anybody could figure out going off of his appearance.

Just as Johnny did, "That guy kinda looks like he has the same aesthetic as Kronika. Think there's a connection?"

Noob tapped the side of his head and then pointed to Johnny, "Quite the observation, Johnny. This is Geras, Kronikas' immovable champion. He used to work for her, but he proved too strong for even an Elder God to contain. He now works for the Netherrealm."

Smoke thought that wasn't right, but he couldn't recall why he thought that. He didn't bring it up. Too bad he was distracted by thinking about this, as Geras rammed into right into Smoke. Smoke collapsed on his back right into the dirt, all while grunting and groaning in pain. He passed out instantly.

The golem redirected his attention towards Johnny. Johnny cracked his knuckles and his neck, "You wanna go? Let's go!" Johnny ran at Geras and leapt into the air with his fist raised. He clocked Geras right in the jaw as he landed, which didn't even faze the golem.

Geras threw a punch, which Johnny parried. Johnny threw out a multitude of punches, which wasn't even enough to stagger him backwards. Geras seemed unimpressed. He punched Johnny right in the chest, sending him back by a fair bit. Johnny fell forward, caught himself before he hit the ground, and slid back kicking up the dust. The crowd cheered.

Johnny stood back up, quite impressed, "Not bad, big guy." He slid forward with his leg raised and foot glowing green. He kicked Gera's right in the stomach, which was enough to actually stagger the behemoth. Geras actually laughed upon this, "Finally! A challenge! I have waited a long time for this."

Johnny gasped, "You can talk?"

"Of course! I just see no need to when others have left me so unimpressed for so long. However, you are just what I have been seeking." Geras actually smiled as he threw the next punch, which Johnny blocked. Johnny retaliated by uppercutting Geras with his glowing green fist. It wasn't enough to send the golem flying, but it was enough to cause him to stumble back. This left an opening, allowing Johnny to elbow Geras right in the stomach. Geras coughed out glowing blue blood upon this attack. Again, Geras' reaction was unusually joyful.

As Johnny and Geras fought, Noob stepped out of the crowd. He motioned towards Hanzo, "I thought I recognized you! Scorpion! My, how things have changed."

"I do not go by Scorpion anymore. I. am. Hanzo Hasashi."

"I am Hanzo Hasashi." Noob mockingly echoed in a dismissive voice, "So you have chosen to reject the codename that the Shirai Ryu gave you?"

"Yes," Hanzo simply answered.

"This is a new low, even for you, Scorpion."

"Do not call me that," Hanzo said in an angered tone, trying his best to control his anger.

Noob chuckled, "Oh? Gonna stop me, Scorpion?"

Hanzo gritted his teeth and threw his spear at Noob. The spear impaled the wraith. A group of Brotherhood of Shadows members tried to intervene but Noob held out his hand, motioning for them to step aside. Hanzo dragged Noob towards him and forced him on his knees. Hanzo placed his katana's at Noob's throat, "I am no longer Scorpion."

He then sheathed said katana and offered his hand, "As such, I refuse to kill you. Not again. Let me help you, Bi-Han. What I did to you, it was wrong. I wasn't willing to give you a second chance, but I want to give you one now. I broke free of Quan-Chi's control, I can allow you to do the same."

Noob took Hanzo's hand, "You really mean that? Perhaps...you're right."

Hanzo helped Noob back up, "I really do."

Noob twisted Hanzo's arm, socked him in the face, let go, and quickly stole his katana from his sheath. Hanzo threw out a kick, but Noob responded by blocking it...with the katana. Hanzo screamed as his foot was sliced open by the blade. His anguish gave way to anger as fire began to surround him. Noob laughed, "That's it! Come on! Give into your anger and your hatred!"

Hanzo resisted as the flames died down, "Ghhhk...I won't let you win!"

Noob tried to ram the katana blade into Hanzo's torso, but Hanzo responded by throwing out a pillar of fire in self defense. Noob quickly sank below the ground into a black puddle and rose back up behind Hanzo. Hanzo tried turning around but it was too late. Noob ran the katana straight into Hanzo's spinal chord, severing it. He collapsed, his legs completely limp. Noob stomped on Hanzo's chest, "Your first mistake was assuming I am under Quan-Chi's control. I am under nobody's control but my own. This is how I choose to be."

"All I wanted to do was help you, Bi-Han! Can't you see the monster you've become!?"

"You're 27 years too late," Noob hissed.

"Then I will not die begging like you did. If you are going to kill me, get it over with. I would rather die as I am then go back to being Scorpion."

Noob obliged, decapitating him in one swift swipe. He looked down on Hanzo's body with a sense of satisfaction, "Let no good deed go unpunished."

He redirected his attention towards the fight between Johnny and Geras. It seemed that Johnny was finally getting the upperhand. Johnny, though weary, knew he had to continue fighting. Even if Geras was truly unkillable, he'd damn well try to kill him. He was the only thing standing between the villainous army and Sonya. Not only that, but he needed to be there when Cassie got back from Outworld. He couldn't let them win. Geras too seemed to be getting tired with every punch. The two were simply evenly matched.

As Johnny thought more and more about Sonya and Cassie, his fists began to glow red. He sneered at Geras, who seemed rather curious at this development. Johnny ran towards Geras and threw dozens of punches at the golem. His speed caught Geras completely off-guard. The punches were enough to finally send Geras to the ground. Johnny raised his leg above Geras, who looked up at it in awe. He sent his foot down, crushing Geras' head.

He gave a sigh of relief, having at least beat him after what felt like forever. He was so distracted by the fight, he didn't even notice that there were now Special Forces' soldiers, tanks, and helicopters helping to fend off the invading forces. It seemed that, in spite of losing Hanzo, things were ultimately going to turn out alright.

That was until Geras stood back up, his head reassembling. He cracked his neck, "Regrettably, though you may have killed me, it was not enough to truly end me. I am immortal, unmovable." It was with great sadness that Geras began to attack Johnny again.

"Why are you even fighting me?!"

"Because I have no choice," he answered.

Things did not turn around, unfortunately. Not even the Special Forces' army was enough to take down the combined might of the Netherrealm and the Tekunin. A helicopter landed and Jax walked out, "I'll be damned. They weren't kidding when they said it was an emergency..."

He interrupted the fight between Geras and Johnny by grabbing Johnny by the shoulder and yanking him away.

"Jax!? What the hell are you doing here?"

"They pulled me out of retirement for an emergency! Said that all Special Forces' units should retreat immediately!"

"We can't retreat!" Johnny objected, "Sonya is still in that building!"

Jax grabbed the machine gun hanging off of his back and said, "Then I'll get her out of there!" He shot down anyone that got in his way. Any unfortunate enough to close to him were beaten down with his bare hands.

He charged into the Special Forces' base. He ran back out carrying Sonya in one arm and firing off his gun in the other. He motioned for Johnny to follow him to the helicopter that he dropped off on.

Smoke came to and quickly disappeared in a plume of mist. He instantly appeared in the chopper that was about to depart. Johnny, on his way to the helicopter, decided to pick up Triborg. He could barely carry the heavy robot but thought that he might be useful if they could reactivate him.

He was the last to board the chopper. Jax slammed the sliding sidedoor shut and they took off.

"Let them leave," Noob said, "they're not why we're here."

Sektor called off his cyborgs, all of them returning to him. They walked across the bloodstained desert, the corpses of cyborgs, Brotherhood members, and soldiers littering the ground.

They made their way to the heart of the Special Forces' compound, right where the portal to Outworld was. On Noob's command, Sektor destroyed the gateway, assuring that the Earthrealmers trapped in Outworld would not make it back.

Kronika then appeared to them, "I see that you have done as I have asked."

Noob knelt before Kronika, "Indeed. Those that are left in Outworld now have no way back to Earthrealm. There will be less opposition for you here."

"Exactly as I have planned. The more Earthrealm is divided, the greater chance this has of working. This is where it begins..."

* * *

As the few remaining members of the Special Forces left the headquarters in a helicopter, Jax had this to say, "I hear that Raiden's gone bad. Think he's got something to do with this?"

Johnny shook his head, "No, there's no way. Raiden would never ally with the Netherrealm, even if he's gone bad. Heck, I think he hates the Netherrealm more than ever."

Smoke agreed, "He's right. I have a really bad feeling about this. Do you think Noob is the one behind these attacks?"

Johnny shrugged, "I don't know. All I know is that what's going on with Raiden is just a smokescreen, all to distract us from the greater threat. I'm afraid that we've all been pawns someone's scheme..."

* * *

_And so ends the latest chapter. This is where things start getting real, the darkest hour._

_MKDemigodZ-Warrior, those are both valid questions. Skarlet may've been opposed to Kotal around the time of MKX comic, but by now she has been recruited into his ranks seeing as how Reiko has been killed. Though, seeing how quickly she betrayed him, she wasn't that loyal to his cause. Havik's return will be explained in the story itself so I wouldn't want to spoil that. I will say that involves a certain someone resurrecting him._

_Unbeaten dragon, Cetrion's role in the story will be unveiled later on. Hate to be vague but I wouldn't want to spoil which side she's on. I hope you can understand._

_As always, thanks for reading and thanks for the reviews! The next chapter will go back to Outworld and will contain the final confrontation with Dark Raiden! I hope you'll be there to read it._


	9. Thundergod's End

Cassie, Jacqui, Frost, Past Johnny, and Sub-Zero arrived in Outworld, directly in front of Kotal's fortress. What they found was a realm in a complete state of disarray.

Burnt corpses littered the walkway leading to the entrance. It seems that Raiden had already been there.

Cassie looked across bodies with a sickened expression, "We're too late..."

"We're not," Sub-Zero objected, "there's probably still survivors that made it out alive. Seeing this has made one thing clear, we must kill Raiden as soon as possible."

Jacqui agreed, "It's what's gotta be done. Seeing this pointless bloodshed, it's enough to make me sick."

They approached the entrance, walking inside. Things weren't any prettier inside. The entire main hall had practically been destroyed. Dents and holes covered the walls, bloodstains coated the floor, and even more bodies were scattered around.

This was when they first encountered one of Raiden's newfound acolytes. Skarlet stepped out from the doorway atop the stairs at the end of the hallway, "So, you finally came. Just as Raiden predicted."

"Out of our way," Frost demanded, "we don't have any time to deal with you!"

Skarlet stepped down the stairs, "That's too bad." Sub-Zero stepped forward but Frost stepped in front of him.

Sub-Zero was naturally hesitent, "You don't have what it takes to fight someone like her!"

"Why don't you ever have faith in me, master?"

Sub-Zero remained quiet for a second before stepping aside, "You're right. You need to prove yourself, Frost. I hope my faith is not misplaced."

Frost was surprised at this outcome, "Wh- really? Thank you, master. I will not let you down."

Frost leapt at Skarlet, the two engaging into battle. Her four companions moved on without her.

Skarlet blocked Frost's leaping punch and then sprayed blood in her face. The crimson liquid splashed all over Frost, causing her to stumble back. Skarlet then roundhouse kicked her, sending the young student to the floor. Skarlet was ready to slice Frost's throat open with a kunai, but Frost placed her hand on the ground. A trail of ice ran across the floor, reaching Skarlet's feet. Skarlet was frozen from the shin down, incapacitating her. Frost took this chance to get back up and kick Skarlet both in the stomach and then the jaw. Skarlet broke free of the ice, spraying more blood at Frost. Frost froze the blood in mid-air, grabbed the frozen chunk, and threw it right back at Skarlet. Skarlet raised her hands, causing the blood to liquify and sink back to the ground. When that was done, she was greeted with Frost by sliding right into her. Skarlet was knocked into the air, allowing Frost to leap up and kick her back down to the ground. While the blood mage was on the ground, Frost froze her entirely. Frost picked up Skarlet's dropped kunai and considered ramming it right into her heart. It would be so easy to kill her. Instead, she dropped it and chased after her comrades.

While Frost was occupied with Skarlet, the rest of the Special Forces came face to face with the Kollector on the next floor.

"Earthrealmers," Kollector muttered to himself.

Johnny laughed upon seeing Kollector, "Hah! Who's this guy, Goro's anorexic cousin? No seriously, he looks like what'd happen if a chihuahua had sex with the Kraken from Clash of the Titans."

Kollector paid little mind to Johnny's insults, instead staring at his sunglasses in intense awe. "Oh yes, those look quite valuable. If you give me those specs upon your face, I will let you pass without a fight."

Jacqui was quite incredulous at this, "Seriously? Well, you heard 'em, Johnny. Give him your sunglasses."

"You kidding? I paid $500 for these, I'm not handing them over to that jerk!"

Cassie smacked her past dad in the back of the head, "Come on dad, hand 'em over! The less fighting we have to do, the better!"

"Yes, yessss, the girl raises a good point," Kollector agreed, "Hand them over, that is all I require. It is a deal you cannot pass up."

"Okay first of all," Johnny began, "I'm not you're daddy yet so don't go trying to pull that on me. Second of all, you can't just smack me like that! Would you do that to your Johnny?"

"My dad would have handed his sunglasses over by now. Come on already!"

Johnny shook his head, "Your dad's a real punk, then. Come on, what's this guy gonna do to me? I can take him, easy."

Johnny stepped forward, shrugging cockily. Kollector lunged at him, leaping up onto Johnny's upperbody. Johnny tried to force him off, but his grip was deceptively strong. As his two lower arms latched onto the actor, he used the upper two to both strangle him and repeatedly sock him in the face.

"Hey," Johnny cried out, "Stop that! Hey, come on, that's my good side!"

After he was done beating Johnny, he snagged the glasses from his face and placed them into his satchel. Johnny cracked his knuckles, charging directly at the Kollector. He kicked him right between the eyes. After that he flipped over the Kollector, landing right behind him. He tried to grab his sunglasses but one of Kollector's vestigial back arms grabbed his hand. Johnny screamed in shock at this as he tried to break free. Kollector reached into his back with one of his arms and pulled out a sharp sickle. He was ready to slice Johnny's arm off but Cassie intervened by shadow kicking him right in the chin as he was distracted. Kollector went flying into a nearby wall, nearly passed out.

Johnny smiled at Cassie, "Not bad, not bad. You did some great work there."

"Learned from the best," she said back to him.

Johnny strutted towards Kollector and pulled out his sunglasses from his bag. Right as he was about to put them back on, they split right in half. Johnny sighed, pulling another pair from his pocket and put them back on.

Sub-Zero groaned, "You had another pair in your pocket!?"

"Yeah but these ones were only $300. They're not as nice."

"Why didn't you just give those to him, then," Jacqui asked.

"They were still $300," Johnny responded.

As the four of them started walking away, the Kollector started laughing, "If you proceed, death shall surely greet you! Nobody can stand against him!"

They ignored his warnings. The next few floors were empty, so they kept going until they reached the very top. Sitting in what was once Kotal Kahn's throne was Raiden and standing beside him was both Mileena and Scorpion.

"Welcome, all of you," Raiden said, "I am glad that you could make it. I have been expecting you."

Sub-Zero sneered at him, "Why are you being so friendly?"

"I was hoping that perhaps seeing what peace truly looks like would convince you that my ways are truly right."

"Peace," Jacqui sarcastically asked, "You're calling all that slaughter you committed peace?!"

Raiden stood up from his throne and approached Jacqui, "Yes. Perhaps, in the eye of a mortal, this might seem grievous. However, I have come to realize that ultimately all mortal life is disposable. Such shortlived, fragile creatures. While I do not seek to kill all of them, what are the need of those few in the eyes of many? My "slaughter" has just saved countless other lives."

Cassie angrily stepped towards Raiden and started aggressively prodding her finger at him, "So we're just disposable to you?! Is that what you think of us?!"

Raiden nodded, "Yes. If that's what it should come down to, I would kill you. However, I do not wish for it to come to that."

"Tell that to my mother you put in a coma, you bastard!" Cassie was this close to strangling Raiden but she knew she couldn't take him on alone. Yet, it was so tempting. The personal gratification she'd receive from it would be quite satisying.

"Sonya got in my way, she shouldn't have dived directly in front of my lightning."

At this point, Cassie didn't care about the consequences. "She only did that to save my life," Cassie screeched as she wrapped her hands around Raiden's throat and squeezed as hard as she could.

The others had no choice, Cassie had initiated a fight so they had to hop in. Sub-Zero would distract Scorpion and Jacqui would distract Mileena. This left an exhausted Johnny and Cassie to fight Raiden.

* * *

Jacqui threw a punch towards Mileena, which she blocked with her sais. Mileena tried kicking Jacqui, but she grabbed Mileena by the leg and slammed her into the floor. She attempted to stomp on the half-tarkatan, but she rolled out of the way.

"Why are you even working with Raiden anyway," she asked while shooting at Mileena with her gauntlets.

Mileena avoided each gun shot as she responded, "He has promised me the throne I so deserve!"

"You're bein' played, girl," Jacqui said while lobbing a plasma grenade at Mileena.

Mileena leapt up above the plasma grenade, the explosion propelling her forward. She lunged at Jacqui with her sais ready to attack, knocking the young Briggs onto the ground. "What would you know of it," Mileena replied as she tried ramming her sai directly into Jacqui's skull.

Jacqui grabbed the sai and tried shoving her away, "He isn't gonna let you rule! At the absolute best, you'll just be his puppet! At worst, you're just bein' manipulated into doing what he wants you to do until you're considered disposable!"

Mileena growled at her, "I am no pawn! I am the queen!"

"If you were, you wouldn't need him!" Jacqui shoved Mileena off of her and kicked her away. Mileena stumbled back, allowing Jacqui the time to stand back up. Mileena brandished her sai again, showing she was still all too willing to fight.

"Listen," Jacqui began to say, "I almost feel bad for you. Not that we know each other that much, but you sound like you've been through a lot. We don't have to fight, you know. Raiden is the real threat to Outworld. If you care so much about it, you should help us. At least for now."

This was enough to give Mileena pause. Deep down, she did truly care about Outworld. This is why she sought to rule it. At first it was out of a childish need to have the throne as her birth rite, but now? She genuinely thought she was the leader the realm needed. Jacqui's statement caused Mileena to drop her sai, "You...you're right. I have a hard time thinking these things through sometimes, but you're right. For the best of Outworld, Raiden must be killed."

* * *

As this was going on, Sub-Zero and Scorpion were fighting as well. Scorpion teleported behind Sub-Zero, hoping to get the drop on him. Sub-Zero anticipated this, left an ice clone in his place. Scorpion leapt right into the ice clone, freezing him instantly. He hit the floor, breaking his icy shell. As he got back up, he threw out his spear towards Sub-Zero. Sub-Zero grabbed the spear, yanking on it to pull Scorpion towards him instead. Scorpion heated up the chain, burning Sub-Zero's hands. He dropped it as he yelped in pain. Scorpion retracted the chain and threw a fireball towards him. Sub-Zero used an iceball to dissipate the fire before it ever hit him, but coming up directly behind it was Scorpion himself. Scorpion rammed right into Sub-Zero, knocking them both right into the wall. Sub-Zero slammed against the wall, collapsing to the ground. Scorpion took out his katana and tried to swipe Sub-Zero with it.

Sub-Zero slid out from between Scorpion's legs and asked, "What do you hope to gain from this, Hanzo?"

Scorpion snapped at Sub-Zero, "Do not call me Hanzo! That man is dead!" He lowered his face mask to breathe fire at Sub-Zero.

"I know for a fact that Hanzo is alive," Sub-Zero retorted while raising an ice wall to protect himself against the unending fire. "He might be buried underneath your rage, but he can never die."

Sub-Zero leapt over the ice wall and over Scorpion. He wrapped his arm around him, putting him in a chokehold, "I am begging you, we don't have to fight!"

Scorpion elbowed Sub-Zero in the stomach and knocked him to the ground with one swift kick. Again, he pulled out his sword, raising it high in the air. Scorpion growled at him, "Nothing gets between my family and I!"

Sub-Zero didn't have much left in him. He had exhausted too much of his stamina with all of the ice manuevers he had been pulling. As he looked up at the blade held above his head, he closed his eyes and peacefully accepted his fate. Perhaps his death would be what it would take to prove to Hanzo that this continued pursuit of revenge would leave him feeling empty.

However, to his surprise the blade did not come down. When he opened he eyes, he found that Scorpion had been entirely frozen. He stood back up, seeing Frost standing behind Scorpion. He smiled at his student, "Frost...! You saved my life."

He ran up to her and hugged her in gratitude. Instead of rejecting him, she embraced him right back. This took Sub-Zero by surprise, but it was a pleasant one. Scorpion melted his way through the ice and he was ready to continue fighting but then he saw the two hugging.

Sub-Zero saw Scorpion coming to, pulled away, and quickly stepped in front of Frost, "Stay back!"

Scorpion sheathed his sword and began to simply walk away. Sub-Zero grabbed him by the shoulder to stop him, "Wait! What are you doing?"

"Bringing back the family I lost is not worth depriving the family you still have," Scorpion said back to him, "For my great dishonor against you and your daughter, I have little choice but to commit seppuku."

Frost was quick to correct him, "I'm not his daughter. There's no need to kill yourself for this. My master has taught me that redemption is possible for anybody who really means it."

Sub-Zero didn't show it, but Frost's compassion for their enemy gave him great pride in her.

"Without revenge, I have no purpose," Scorpion admitted, "There is nothing left for me in this life."

Sub-Zero shook his head, "That's not true. In the future, you have brought back the Shirai Ryu as a force of good. You've started a new family with them. That alone is enough to justify your life, isn't it?"

Scorpion turned back to them, "Perhaps you're right. I will help you fight Raiden."

* * *

While those fights were still going, Cassie and Johnny took on Raiden. Johnny went in with a shadow kick. Raiden teleported behind it and brought his fists down onto Johnny, slamming him down. Cassie tried to shoot her guns at him, but Raiden caught every bullet with his electricity. He sent the bullets back at her. She ducked under them. Raiden flew into the air and started shooting down lightning at her. Cassie threw down a ball onto the floor, which sent out a big bubble shield. It was enough to block the barrage of lightning but it's power wouldn't last long. All Raiden needed to do was wait it out as Cassie struggled to think of what to do.

That's when Johnny leapt high into the air, green afterimages following after him, and uppercut Raiden straight out of the air. Johnny landed on his feet as Raiden hit the ground on his back. Johnny tried kicking the thundergod as he was down, but Raiden vanished before he could. He reappeared behind Johnny and wrapped his arms under Johnny's arms. He sent out a surge of electricity across Johnny's entire body, causing him to fall onto his knees. Raiden kicked Johnny in the face, sending him down onto the floor.

Cassie shadow charged into Raiden, sending him into a nearby wall. She pulled her father's past counterpart up from the ground as the two of them took battle stances. Raiden flew towards them, screaming as he did. Both Cassie and Johnny sidestepped the attack. Raiden crashed into the wall, going straight through it.

When he reentered the throne room, he saw everybody in the room ready to fight him. Even Mileena and Scorpion were standing against him now.

Raiden removed Shinnok's Amulet and held it above his head. Bolts of green lighting came flying out from it, surging into all of them. Raiden scowled at all of them as he yelled, "This is what you get for betraying Earthrealm! You all will pay for your folly!"

The pain the electricity brought to them was excruciating. It was unknown how long they could hold on.

Luckily, they wouldn't need to hold on for long as Raiden stopped firing the electricity. What gave Raiden pause was a scorching green liquid that was currently melting through his cape. Raiden turned around, seeing Reptile waiting for him in the hole in the wall. Reptile taunted the thundergod by laughing and disappearing. Raiden shot lightning at where Reptile was, but it seemed he already ran away.

"Meddlesome Saurian! I'll make it so that your species finally goes extinct!"

This distraction would prove quite handy. It gave enough time for Kotal Kahn to arrive at the top floor. He wasn't alone. Standing behind him was Havik, Kung Lao, Baraka, Jade, Sheeva, Ermac, and Erron Black.

"You have held Outworld in terror for long enough, Raiden! This ends here," Kotal proclaimed as he stomped towards the mad Thundergod.

Raiden didn't say a word as he simply sent out crackling lightning bolts at Kotal. Ermac sent up a telekinetic shield, protecting his emperor. Raiden got ready to shoot lightning at him but Jade leapt up and stole Shinnok's amulet from him as he was distracted. Raiden growled at her, sending a massive surge of lightning towards her. She slammed her staff into the ground and dived away from it. The staff absorbed the electricity like a lightning rod.

Raiden flew towards her in an attempt to retrieve it, but Sheeva jumped up into the air and landed right in front of him. She grabbed onto him and tossed him towards Havik. Havik took out a pair of knives and rammed them straight into Raiden's back. Raiden paid little mind to this, pushing him away to continue pursuing Jade. He NEEDED that amulet, he couldn't let her take it away from him.

Erron rolled out a set of sand grenades which exploded in front of Raiden. Raiden went flying into the air and slammed into the ceiling. He came crashing down afterwards, landing directly onto the floor. Kotal stomped on his body repeatedly, each slam more gratifying than the last.

Raiden shot out yet more electricity at Kotal, still complete undeterred from retrieving the Amulet. Kotal collapsed onto the ground from the pain and sheer exhaustion. Raiden stood back up but now he was thinking less about the Amulet and more about killing Kotal. Without their leader, he thought that they'd be completely hopeless.

He shot more bolts at Kotal, determined to finish him off for good. That's when Baraka intervened and simply stabbed the Thundergod in the back with both of his arm blades. He dragged his blades outwards, slicing up Raiden's stomach and back at the sides. Raiden grabbed the blades, sending a surge of electricity into Baraka's entire skeleton. Baraka's blades retracted and he retreated.

Raiden, though clearly exhausted, seemed to have some fight left in him. He staggered towards Jade with his arm outreached. Reptile suddenly appeared behind him and put him into a chokehold. He spat more acid onto Raiden, directly onto the back of his head. This burned completely through Raiden's hood and skin. It even ate away at some of the bone. He kicked Reptile aside, refusing to give up.

Ermac lifted Raiden high into the air with telekinesis and slammed him right into the ground repeatedly. He held him back into the air, allowing Erron Black to unload both of his guns' entire cylinders on Raiden. After that Kung Lao threw his hat, completely bisecting Raiden right down the middle. Raiden teleported out of Ermac's telekinetic grab, reappearing behind Jade.

He was hovering there, completely ready to grab the Amulet. Instead he collapsed onto the ground, completely exhausted. He reached out for the Amulet, but Jade threw it down and stomped on it right in front of his eyes. The Amulet shattered into pieces as a green steam-like substance shot out from it. Raiden cried out, "No!"

"You're all fools," Raiden screamed, "my defeat only insures that the eternal war that consumes our realms is destined to continue! There will never be peace without me!"

Jade shook his head at him, "It is not peace if it is attained through fear."

"Don't you understand?! The Elder Gods are the true enemy! They never help us, no matter how much we beg," Raiden continued to rave, "My true intention was to unite us against them, to destroy them! Take the control of the realms into our own hands!"

Sub-Zero, who got back up thanks to Reptile's help, had this to say, "That's not true. An Elder God named Kronika told me of your vile intentions. She has helped us in trying to prevent the Armageddon you would have caused."

Raiden's eyes went wide at the mention of Kronika, "No, that cannot be. Kronika was sealed away thousands of years ago. It was 500 years before Shinnok's first invasion, even. She was the first Elder God to rebel, you must mean someone else."

Everyone paused upon Raiden saying this. "Why should we trust you about this," Sub-Zero asked.

While the two debated, the Outworlders were helping the other Earthrealmers, and Mileena, get back up. The bond between Earthrealm and Outworld had increased greatly this day.

"Why reason would I have to lie," Raiden asked right back, "I've already been defeated, Shinnok's Amulet has been destroyed, and I fully expect to die once this is through. If this is Kronika, she is using you. I can assure you of this. You cannot trust her."

Sub-Zero considered if Raiden was right, but he brushed off his claims. Havik paid little mind to his warnings and simply stomped his head into a pile of flesh and bone. "Oops," he sarcastically said.

With Raiden's threat finally taken care of, the Special Forces were ready to return home. Unfortunately, they would not be doing that. They clicked the remotes on their belts and nothing happened.

"Uhhh guys," Jacqui asked, starting to get worried.

Cassie tried to using a communicator to contact their homebase but there was no signal, "We aren't able to contact home either! Something must have happened!"

"Calm down everyone," Sub-Zero advised them, "we'll find a way back!"

Kotal, needing to be supported by both Reptile and Ermac, said this to them, "I still have my Portal Stone...Sheeva, fetch it for me!"

Sheeva nodded, going to get it. She then returned empty handed, "It's not there anymore. Somebody has stolen it."

They then noticed that Havik had conspicuously disappeared as well. Kotal clenched his fist, "That damn Cleric of Chaos...there is still another way, but it won't be as easy. Located in the Highlands of Outworld is the Portal. It will take you anywhere you wish to be. Be warned, it is guarded by the Dark Priests. They will not let you pass without passing their trial. I would go with you, but I'm too weak. I don't know if I'll ever even recover."

Jade stepped forward, "I volunteer to help guide them to the Portal."

Kotal allowed this, "Very brave, Jade. So be it. I wish you all the best of luck."

"We had better get going now," Jacqui stated.

Jade agreed, "The sooner you find out what's going on, the better. Come along, then!" She made her way out the door, all of them following behind her.

This just left Mileena. She considered killing Kotal Kahn then and there. He was completely vulnerable and weak. It'd be too easy. However, she refrained from doing it. Kotal looked at her, "Aren't you going to try to attack me?"

She shook her head, "No. Outworld has been through too much strife as it is. As much as I'd love to continue my father's legacy, I know better now. My pursuit of the throne nearly killed me before I was teleported to this point in time. I'd rather live than continue our war."

Kotal seemed quite surprised upon hearing this, "Is that so? I don't know if we can forgive your crimes so easily but perhaps we can work something out..."

* * *

Havik, using the Portal Stone, went to Earthrealm. He was brought to Shang Tsung's long since abandoned island. This is where he met up with Noob Saibot.

"Good job taking the Portal Stone," Noob said to Havik, "is Raiden dead?"

Havik nodded, "He is indeed."

"Just as planned," Noob replied, "They'll find their way back I'm sure, but by the time they do it'll simply be too late. Kronika is already bringing her hourglass to this island right as we speak. Shang Tsung's well of souls will provide the power."

"We aren't really going to keep working for her, are we?"

"Of course not. She doesn't know you have the Portal Stone. She might not even know that you're alive. After all, it was I who brought you back. When she comes back, we use the Portal Stone to teleport both her and Shinnok to the Netherrealm. Using the time that gives us, we can simply hijack control of the hourglass for our own purposes."

The two of them chuckled to themselves, completely sure of their own little plan to backstab Kronika...

* * *

_MKDemigodZ-Warrior, to keep it real with you there's a lot of reasons why it's just Johnny. I'm not a big fan of the past characters coming to the present element of MK11. It takes away a lot of the focus from the modern versions of these characters. There's a reason why the revenants are more one-dimensional than ever in MK11 and that's because there's just not enough time to focus on them with the past counterparts running about. That's outright why they wrote Dark Raiden out of the game so soon. There's also the fact that it's hard to keep track of who's who with two versions of the same character running around in the format of text. If it were up to me, then I might not have brought back any past counterparts whatsoever. But I wanted to follow the general plot structure of MK11 and one of the biggest plot points is bringing back past counterparts so I felt obligated to do it. I thought Johnny would be the best since he makes such a great contrast against his present counterpart. I also brought back Kung Lao in Outworld, which is why I quickly disposed of revenant Kung Lao in back in Chapter 2. I hope you can understand. Killing Hanzo felt necessary, at least in my eyes. I tried to make it so it wasn't a needless death and I knew it HAD to be Noob to be the one to do it._

_Fun fact about this chapter, I nearly forgot to put Kung Lao in! It was finished but then I noticed I hadn't mentioned him once! This is what happens when you're writing so many characters at once, it really is easy to forget just one. Another reason why I didn't want to throw in more time displaced characters. This is why his involvement in this chapter is so minimal. I will hopefully remember him for the next chapter._

_Speaking of which, I'm certain many of you are wondering how Kotal somehow brought Baraka and Havik to his side. While Havik could easily be explained as simply following along to steal the Portal Stone, Baraka still needs an explanation. I already said that this chapter would feature the final showdown with Raiden so I couldn't go back on my word. Trying to fit in Kotal's story with this would have crammed too much into this one. So for the next chapter we will actually be flashing back a bit to see what led to this. I hope nobody minds this backtracking. As always, thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!_


	10. Reuniting a Divided Empire

_Before we get started, this chapter takes place before and then connects directly into the previous chapter. With that out of the way, let's get started_

* * *

Kotal and his allies escaped to the wastelands of Outworld. Raiden was rather unconcerned with catching him at the moment, more focused on establishing his short lived reign as the new ruler, so he simply sent Baraka to scout the wastelands to find him.

Kotal knew that he had to rally everyone he possibly could to join him. His first choice was the Tarkata. The relationship between Kotal and the Tarkatan was one of tense conflict. Kotal made it clear he felt that the Tarkata were little more than a bunch of ravenous mindless animals who didn't deserve the rights of people. However, things were desperate now. This desperation led to Kotal rethinking his views.

Following Kotal was Jade, Kung Lao, and Havik. As they walked towards the Tarkatan camp, Kotal looked back towards Havik, "You began an uprising against me, you caused the riot at the arena, why is it that you are now working with me?"

"Raiden seeks to control a realm he should have no hold over," Havik said, "He stands for everything I am against. I'm sure you've heard this one before but the enemy of my enemy is my friend after all. Working together benefits us both, does it not?"

Kotal begrudgingly agreed, "I need everyone I can get to stand against him, so you're right. However, once this is over you can be certain that I will execute you."

"I would expect no less," Havik replied with enthusiasm.

They arrived at the Tarkatan outpost. At first, it seemed entirely empty. Kotal called out to any that may still be there, "Tarkata of Outworld! This is Kotal Kahn! I come to you today to ask for your support!"

What few uninjured Tarkata remained walked out from their huts, snarling and growling at Kotal. "Why is it that only when your throne is taken away from you that you now seek peace," one of them asked.

Kotal remained calm, answering civilly and honestly, "I come out of desperation, I will admit. However, what better to unite this divided realm than the very threat of it being torn apart? All I ask of you is your assistance."

"You shall not have our assistance," a voice called out from atop the camp's surrounding stone wall. It was Baraka, he had tracked them down. Baraka leapt down from the wall, popping out his blades, "For years you have treated my people like second class citizens!"

"And Raiden has exterminated over half of your population in mere seconds! Even if you hate me, can you not see that I am the lesser of two evils?"

"Raiden has promised to reinstate Mileena as the proper Queen! While in the short term he has done more damage, in the long term he will give us the proper respect we deserve!"

Kotal stomped his foot, finally giving in to his anger, "If you are so blind to his manipulations then I will have you join me by force!"

Jade held her staff out in front of him, "We came here to negotiate, not fight."

"The Tarkatan people are blind to negotiation! It was foolish for us to come here in the first place! These savages will accept any despot who promises them great things but never delivers! I knew I should have had them exterminated..."

The Tarkata audience gasped, all of them extending their blades in anger. Jade whipped him across the face with her staff, "You are not helping your cause! No wonder this realm was in strife when we first got here, you make for a very poor leader."

Kotal clenched his first, ready to attack Jade in retaliation but Baraka intervened by blocking him. Baraka snarled at him, "You treat my people like trash and expect us to give you any form of respect? If you think you're so worthy of ruling us, why don't you face me in Mortal Kombat?"

"If I can best you, then you will follow me. If you can best me, then you can feel free to kill me where I stand. I'm completely confident that I can take on the likes of you," Kotal stated bluntly.

Baraka charged at Kotal, ready to attack. The crowd of Tarkata cheered for him. Kotal grabbed Baraka by the arms and tossed him aside like he was nothing. Baraka got back up, diving right towards Kotal. Kotal was ready to grab him again but Baraka landed on the ground, slid underneath Kotal's legs, and got back up behind him. This took Kotal but complete surprise, allowing Baraka to slash him across his entire backside. Kotal screamed as Baraka's blades ran across his back. He turned around and kicked Baraka right in the chest. Baraka flew backwards, slamming into the ground. Kotal marched towards the fallen Baraka and stomped on his chest. He pulled out a ceremonial dagger and held it high. He was about to stab Baraka with it, but the Tarkatan warrior stopped it by parrying it with his arm blades. He ran one of his blades into Kotal's thigh, temporarily distracting the Emperor. Baraka took full advantage of this opening by getting back up and tackling Kotal to the ground. Baraka placed his blade against Kotal's neck, ready to slice it right open.

Kotal accepted this defeat, "Well done, Baraka. You have defeated me. I am a man of my word." He closed his eyes, anticipating that Baraka would finish him. Kotal probably could have taken Baraka in a fight were he at full strength, but his shortlived battle with Raiden left him weak. Instead, Baraka retracted his arm blade and got up.

"What are you doing," Kotal asked.

"If I kill you, it will just further prove to you that we are little more than savages. So, I will let you live."

Kotal stood back up, taking in all the energy of the sun he could to heal his wounds. "You surprise me, Baraka. Now that we have resolved this, I beg of you to help me. I cannot defeat Raiden alone. Though he promises to give your people a greater future, you must know that he is lying. He does not seek peace, he seeks control."

Baraka solemnly nodded, "Yes, I suppose you're correct. You have the word of the Tarkatan people, Kotal. Though our numbers are reduced, what little army we have left will help you reclaim your throne. However, if you do not change things, we will be sure to pay you back for treating us so poorly."

"Understood," Kotal replied, "you have my gratitude. We must continue on to the Shokan settlement. They are an invaluable ally to us we cannot afford to lose."

Kotal, Kung Lao, Havik, Jade, Baraka, and the remnants of the Tarkatan army made their way to Kuatan, home of the Shokan. It wasn't too far from the Tarkata camp, thankfully. Located at the edge of the bottom of a very tall mountain, Kuatan was a vast city. It was so big, it even stretched into the subterranean caves of the mountain and connected to the Cobalt Mines of Shokan. At the heart of Kuatan was a massive palace known simply as the Kuatan Palace. It was there that Queen Sheeva would be.

When Kotal and his allies arrived at the throne room of Kuatan Palace, the sun was beginning to set. What Kotal saw when he arrived was a great surprise. Waiting for him was Reptile, Ermac, and Erron Black.

Kotal was both glad but also disheartened to see them, knowing they are likely the last surviving members of his forces at his fortress. He greeted them, "Syzoth! Ermac! Erron! Thank goodness you've survived! I can't believe we'd run into you here."

Reptile seemed quite happy to see him, "We weren't sssure if you had sssurvived, Kotal. I am glad to sssee that you're ssstill alive."

"We came here for sanctuary, knowing that this was the last place we might be save from Raiden," Erron explained.

"Unfortunately, we were the only ones who did manage to escape," Ermac added.

Kotal lowered his head shamefully, "It is unfortunate that neither you nor I could have saved them. Still, you are all alive. That is what matters right now."

Sheeva stood up from her throne, approaching Kotal, "I take it you are here to recruit the Shokan, Kotal?"

Kotal nodded, "You would be correct, Sheeva. I need the Shokan's help."

"I wish we could help, but my people are in strife. Ever since that riot in your arena, a civil war has broken out between us. I wish for nothing more than peace but the more radical Shokan are now demanding vengeance for both Goro and Gorbak."

"What can we do to help?"

"The Shokan people are warriors at heart," Sheeva said, "therefore they can only be truly satiated by kombat. They want me to prove myself as their Queen, so I must insist that I fight you before I can help you."

Kotal gave a tired sigh, "I'm sorry, I'm not capable of fighting right now. I already had to fight Baraka to gain the Tarkatan's favor. There must be another way!"

"There is. If you are incapable of fighting, then one of your warriors may step up to fight in your place. The only question is, which will it be?"

That's when Kung Lao stepped forward, "I will be the one." Kung Lao had been silent throughout this entire journey. This was a war he had no stakes in, he had no investment in it. However, he did always feel the need to best a Shokan in Mortal Kombat whenever he could to do his ancestor right. This is why he felt compelled to stand up and fight.

Sheeva agreed, "So be it. Then let us fight!"

Two Shokan guards guided everyone out of the throne room at once. When they did, Sheeva instructed Lao to stand in the center of the room. With them both in the center, the outside of the floor began to retract downwards. Lava filled surrounding gap, creating a suitably deadly arena.

Kung Lao was not deterred, he proudly took a kombat ready position.

Sheeva did the same, "Be warned, I will not hold back. It is not the Shokan way to do so."

Kung Lao smirked, "Neither will I."

The two charged at each other. Sheeva nearly grabbed Kung Lao but Lao simply teleported behind her and punched her right in the back. She flinched slightly, but it wasn't enough to make her stagger. She reached back and pulled him back to the front. She repeatedly wailed on him with two of her arms while the others held him. She then tossed him aside. Kung Lao got back up, cracking his knuckles. He threw his hat at her but she simply sidestepped it. Sheeva leapt up in the air and was ready to land right on him. Lao simply teleported away and reappeared when she landed. He grabbed her and threw her to the ground, teleporting far away from her when he was done. She tossed a fireball, but he dispersed it by throwing his hat at it. The hat went careening through the fireball, heading towards Sheeva. Sheeva ducked underneath it but was met with a surprise when Kung Lao came in directly after it with a dive kick. He landed a hit right on her jaw. This left her open for a moment, allowing Kung Lao to spin right into her. She went flying, her guard completely down. Using this opening, Kung Lao then uppercut her while she was in the air. She hit the ground and when she opened her eyes, Kung Lao was standing over her with his hat against her throat. She laughed, "Well done! You have bested me!"

Kung Lao leapt off of her, his cocky smirk becoming a full on grin, "You should have expected no less."

She rang a gong at the entrance to the throne room, signaling that the fight was over. The lava surrounding the arena was drained and the floor was raised back up. The Shokan guardsmen and Kotal's men returned to the arena.

Sheeva greeted Kotal, "Welcome back. The chosen warrior has beaten me in Mortal Kombat and as such, the Shokan are honorbound to serve you."

Kotal looked at Kung Lao, "Well done, errr...what's your name?"

"I am Kung Lao," he said with confidence.

Sheeva snapped her fingers, turning towards one of her guards, "Have the Shokan army organized." The guard nodded and marched out the door.

"We must hurry. If we go now, we can surely make it to my temple by sunrise. I am certain Raiden will be there waiting for us."

Sheeva agreed, "There is little time to waste. Let us go!"

With that, the combined forces of the Kotal's remaining army, the Shokan forces, and Tarkata horde started on the journey to Kotal's Fortress. It wouldn't be easy but they would have victory over Raiden, no matter what it took.

* * *

_So ends the latest chapter. I'm sorry I had to backtrack but I feel that it was worth showing how Kotal got this army together. I know that perhaps I could have made this the previous chapter but I already promised that chapter would be the one with the battle against Raiden. I'd hate to go back on that. If this story were part of a hypothetical game, then consider this chapter an unlockable bonus chapter that isn't necessary to play to understand the full story but helps explain any questions a player might have. I hope nobody minds this minor detour. As always, thanks for reading!_

_The next chapter will begin where the previous one left off, with the Earthrealmers making their way to the Portal to head back home._


	11. Returning Home

While Outworld was a rather dangerous place to traverse, the Earthrealmers stuck there wouldn't have to worry about that. Kotal Kahn was more than willing to lend them a Dragon Fly to reach the Highlands. Without a Dragon Fly, it could have taken them days to reach the Portal but with a Dragon Fly it would only take minutes. It is the main transportation method for when sorcery is not an option.

As they all sat around the massive flying contraption, it only then sunk in for Johnny that Kung Lao was there, "Hey! Wait! Kung Lao! Oh man! I can't believe I didn't notice you 'til now!"

Kung Lao sighed, "Hello, Johnny." He was genuinely hoping that the movie star wouldn't notice him, but luck did not smile upon him this day. Johnny laughed, "Man! What a wild situation we've ended up in, huh? It's a real Back to the Future kind of thing! Well actually it's more like Part 2 since we found ourselves in a bad future..."

Kung Lao had no idea what Johnny was talking about so he simply shrugged.

Eventually, they landed on the plateau where the Portal was located. Jade stepped off of it, the others following behind her. They arrived at the gateway to the Portal. The sky changed from a cloudy purple to a hellish mix of orange and red. The Portal was just beyond the horizon, past a few stepping stones. Floating in front of it was a mysterious man dressed in a purple robe that covered him entirely.

The man sank down onto the ground, blocking them, "Halt! You cannot use this portal without passing the trial."

"What is this trial anyhow," Cassie asked.

"One of you must volunteer yourselves to face the demons of your past in Mortal Kombat. Only once you conquer those demons may you and your teammates be allowed to pass."

Scorpion stepped forward, volunteering himself to the test. Perhaps if he were faced with the past just one more time, he might just be able to reconcile with it. The Dark Priest raised his arms in the air, shaking them while chanting in some indicipherable language.

Frost turned to Sub-Zero, "I don't think he's the best guy for this kind of thing."

"I have faith that Scorpion will make the right choice," Sub-Zero replied.

A pitch black fog surrounded Scorpion, covering his vision. When he could next see, he was standing in the Shirai Ryu Fire Garden. Unfortunately, he was standing in the Fire Garden after the massacre that left his entire clan dead. The environment surrounding him was dismal. All the bright vibrant colors were now just shades of brown and gray. The trees were barren, the waterways were empty, and there were corpses around every corner.

It took him a solid minute to truly take in where he had been taken as he slowly walked around. When the full realization sank in, he stopped walking and started running. He ran to his hut while screaming, "Satoshi! Harumi!"

What he saw when he entered was a gruesome sight. He saw Sub-Zero standing over their bodies, his sword coated in blood. Sub-Zero turned to him and simply laughed. Driven in a fit of mad rage, Scorpion dived towards the cryomancer. As they both hit the ground, the reality around them shattered. They were no longer in the Shirai Ryu headquarters, they were instead in the Netherrealm.

Sub-Zero went from laughing to begging for his life. "I...I didn't do it," he cried out.

Then, suddenly Quan-Chi was standing behind Scorpion, goading him on, "Get your revenge, Scorpion! Isn't this what you truly wanted?"

Scorpion got off of Sub-Zero, entirely confused at his situation. Quan-Chi went from goading to outright demanding it, "What are you waiting for? Kill him already!"

Sub-Zero looked up to Scorpion with a frightened look. Scorpion unsheathed his katana, looking like he was ready to kill the Lin Kuei warrior. Clearly, Sub-Zero was the past demon he had to kill. It only made sense, right? At least, so he though until he heard Quan-Chi laughing. The laugh was nearly identical to the laugh he heard Sub-Zero let out at the Flower Garden.

Scorpion raised his sword in the air, looking ready to strike. He swung it downwards, but he just barely stopped himself. The sword was mere centimeters from striking. He turned the katana backwards and instead rammed it directly into Quan-Chi's stomach. Quan-Chi was taken entirely aback by this. Scorpion had realized who the real demon of his past was.

Scorpion turned around and pulled his sword out. He kicked Quan-Chi onto the floor. Quan-Chi looked up to Scorpion as he begged for his life, "Wh-what are you doing?! He was the one who killed your family! Not me! I...I'm only trying to help you, Scorpion! I was the one who resurrected you! You can't do this!"

"You resurrected me to use as a pawn! You planned this from the start! You killed my family, blamed Sub-Zero, and then manipulated me! I should have known this, but my rage blinded me! No more!"

Quan-Chi backed away, still lying on his back. "Now Scorpion, where did you get such a silly idea? I would never do that, not to you!"

Scorpion stepped towards him as Quan-Chi backed away further. Eventually Quan-Chi backed away too far, sending one of his hands directly into the lava river. He screamed as his skin and flesh was melted away. Using this as an opening, Scorpion removed his mask and burned Quan-Chi to death. His fiery breath was so burning hot, it melted his bones. Nothing was left of the sorcerer when he was done.

Scorpion sheathed his sword, turning back to Sub-Zero. Sub-Zero stood back up, "You spared me...!"

"That's what I should have done from the start," Scorpion said back to him as he began to walk away. The surrounding Netherrealm began to fade into a black mist as Scorpion returned to the Portal.

The Dark Priest congratulated him, "Well done. You have passed the test. You and your friends have permission to use the Portal."

Jade waved them off, "I suppose this is it, then."

"I doubt it," Jacqui replied. "Something trapped us in Outworld. Once we find out who or what, we'll definitely be needing Outworld's help."

"She's right," Sub-Zero agreed. "Something serious has happened if it was capable of shutting down the Special Forces headquarters. I'm certain we'll be back soon enough."

"You're probably right," Jade said. "Then I shall tell Kotal to be prepared for the upcoming battle."

"So," Cassie began, "where's this portal taking us anyway? I'm surprised nobody asked until now."

"The portal will take you where you are needed. Not where you are wanted," the Dark Priest replied.

"Great," Cassie sarcastically quipped.

All of them departed through the portal, not knowing where it would possibly take them.

The portal opened at the Shirai Ryu Fire Garden. All of them stepped through, surprised at the location. "What are we doing here," Jacqui asked.

"Beats me," Cassie responded, "but we're needed here apparently."

Scorpion stared in awe at the rebuilt Fire Garden. He had visited the original in his vision but that was after it was razed by Quan-Chi. Seeing it restored to it's original beauty was truly stunning. It seemed his future counterpart was correct, the Shirai Ryu were rebuilt.

Present Johnny was quite shocked to see them, "Hey! Isn't this a surprise? How'd you all get back to Earthrealm?"

Cassie ran up to her father and hugged him, "Dad!"

"Cassie! I can't believe I'm seeing you again so soon," Johnny said while he embraced his daughter. "You didn't answer my question. How'd you get back?"

"We had to take a Portal," she answered.

Johnny brushed the top of her head in a fatherly fashion as he replied, "No kidding? Ahh I'm just glad to see ya. I'm glad to see all of you! Unfortunately, I'm afraid we can't celebrate for long."

"I was about to say," Frost interrupted, "What trapped us in Outworld?"

"The Netherrealm and Cyber Lin-Kuei joined forces," Johnny answered, "and they stormed our headquarters. This was the only place we could think of that they wouldn't know where it was."

"Impossible," Scorpion said, "if the Lin-Kuei's cyborgs are involved, then Sektor would surely know where this is located."

"Not so," someone interrupted. It was Takeda, walking out from one of the huts. "Though this might look like the old Fire Garden, it was moved to a new location only few know of. Only Sub-Zero's Lin Kuei and Special Forces know."

Jacqui was very excited to see him, "Takeda! Oh my god, it's been so long! How've you been?"

Takeda smiled at her, "Jacqui, you are exactly who I needed to see right now. Things haven't been going so well right now. I'm afraid something has happened to Grandmaster Hasashi."

Scorpion recognized Takeda as being a member of the Shirai Ryu, going off of his bandanna color, "Who might you be?"

Takeda bowed, "I am Takeda Takahashi. You are...errr, you will be my master in the future. Though you are not the Hanzo I know, it is nice to see you. Especially knowing what just happened to the master I knew..."

"What happened to him? I ran into him, he was alive."

Johnny sighed while shaking his head, "During the assault on our headquarters, Noob Saibot killed him."

Sub-Zero's eyes went wide upon him mentioning that, "Noob?! He's still alive and he killed Hanzo?!"

"'Fraid so," Johnny answered.

"Noob Saibot," Scorpion muttered to himself. The name did sound familiar. "Wasn't he one of Quan-Chi's minions? Why would he seek to murder my future self?"

Sub-Zero placed a hand on Scorpion's shoulders, "I thought you might not know. Noob Saibot is the corrupted form of my brother, the Sub-Zero that you killed. It's likely he did so out of retaliation for you killing him."

Scorpion was taken aback by this, "It was wrong of me to kill him. Now I can see that I will eventually pay for doing so. I didn't even know he had a brother until we ran into each other at Shao Kahn's arena. I felt bad about taking away someone's brother, but I was so blinded by rage at the time..."

"So was I," Sub-Zero admitted, "my brother, you, and I were all pawns in Quan-Chi's scheme. It is best to let the past lie. Right now, we must focus on what is at hand."

Johnny agreed, "He's right. I fear that Noob and Sektor aren't working on their own with this scheme. I think we've all been victims of manipulation."

"Kronika," Jacqui said to herself.

"What was that, Jacqui," Johnny asked.

"Kronika! When we defeated Raiden, he mentioned that Kronika wasn't what she seemed. I'm starting to think he was right."

"That's what I was thinking," Johnny replied, "I should have known everything she promised was too good to be true."

Sub-Zero shook his head with a disappointed expression on his face, "We all fell for it. She gave us things we wanted or promised them. All so we'd turn a blind eye to how suspicious the whole situation seemed. We don't even know what she's up to. All we know is that she wanted Raiden dead."

"And we killed him for her just as she asked," Cassie said while facepalming.

"It's not too late to stop her," Johnny said. "We just have to find out where she's operating from and stop her before she can enact whatever it is she's planning. She put you in Outworld to get you out of the way, but we're all here. She won't stop us."

"And I won't let her," a mysterious feminine voice chimed in. Everyone looked around, wondering where that came from. A bright flash appeared and a beatiful woman dressed in green with pale blue skin appeared. She bowed to them, "Greetings, mortals. I am Cetrion. I am the Elder God of nature."

Everyone there gave dismissive looks, after being fooled be Kronika they weren't so willing to trust yet another Elder God without reason.

"I understand why you may mistrust me. Kronika has manipulated you all but I can promise you, I only want to help."

"Where are the other Elder Gods," Frost asked.

"Unfortunately, the others do not see eye to eye with me. They do not wish to interfere in the affairs of mortals, no matter the dire consequences it may have for you all. They fear that if they do, they will become like Shinnok and Kronika. Only wishing to control the lives of mortals, unwilling to let them live their own lives. I too fear that by interfering directly like this, I will upset the order and become as vile as the two other fallen Elder Gods but I see no other option. You cannot hope to defeat Kronika without me, let alone her and Shinnok. My title as Elder God was also stripped, leaving me less powerful than before."

Everyone gasped while trading baffled expressions. "Hold up," Jacqui interrupted, "Shinnok? Is he involved in this too?! Didn't Raiden decapitate him and leave his head in the Netherrealm?"

"I'm afraid that was a mere copy," Cetrion answered, "the real Shinnok has been hiding away for thousands of years. There are two timelines. The timeline before this was reset by the Raiden of that timeline. Even before that, Shinnok was manipulating the timeline. After his first defeat by Raiden, the Shinnok of this timeline was replaced with the more knowledgeable Shinnok of the previous timeline-"

Past Johnny faked a yawn to interrupt, "Sheesh, nobody asked for this exposition dump. We know everything we need to know. Somehow Shinnok, whoever that is, returned, he has a partner, and we need to stop them both. Sounds easy."

"I actually agree, who cares why Shinnok is back," Cassie concurred. "We beat him twice before, we'll do it again."

"I'm afraid it won't be so easy," Cetrion replied, "the Shinnok you fought was a copy. He had only a fraction of his power. The reason Shinnok wanted Raiden gone is because he had defeated him once, he might just do it again."

"But we'll still try," Sub-Zero said, "no matter what it takes. I will gather the Lin Kuei."

"Then it is up to me to gather this new Shirai Ryu," Scorpion said.

"Not much of the Special Forces left," present Johnny admitted while depressedly sighing, "but we'll gather what we can to fight against them."

"Jade said that she would talk to Kotal about assembling his army to help," Cassie added, "but we'll need a way to Outworld."

"I can open a portal to Outworld," Cetrion reminded them.

"Not only that," present Johnny began, "but we're in the middle of rebuilding Triborg. He has dimension crossing capabilities built into him."

Johnny guided them to a small hut where Jax was currently fixing Triborg. Jacqui was elated to see him, "Dad! You're here too?"

Jax looked at her with the biggest grin imaginable, "Jacqui! So glad to see that you've made it back home. I'd hug you but...I'm a little busy right now."

She gave him a simple peck on the cheek, "Don't worry, I understand. What happened to the robot?"

"Sektor happened," Jax explained, "I wasn't there when it happened but apparently Sektor's memories remanifested completely and moved on to a different body. I'm trying to fix Triborg so he can possibly give us a lead on where he is. If we find Sektor, we find Kronika."

Jax shut a comparment on the back of Triborg's head. As he did so, the android's eyes turned back on. He looked around, "Operations are completely operational."

Triborg sat up from the table he was laying on and stepped onto the ground. It directed it's attention towards Sub-Zero. Sub-Zero's eyes darted around awkwardly as the android seemingly stared directly into his soul.

"Uhhh, what are you doing," he finally spoke up.

"Seeing if your presence drives me into a mad fit to murder you."

Sub-Zero gulped, "Riiiiight. Do you feel any urge to kill me?"

Triborg shook it's head once, "No. Sektor's mind has been completely purged from my system. My AI is finally capable of working at full capacity uninhibited."

Present Johnny slapped him on the back in a congratulatory manner, "Nice! We have a fully functioning robot at last. Now why don't you put that AI to work and see if you can track down Sektor?"

Triborg was about to follow Johnny's orders but then directed it's attention towards a different direction. It's head swiveled 180 degrees, "I am detecting a massive energy surge. Location appears to be...indeterminate. Unable to directly locate the source but the general area seems to be within the Atlantic Ocean."

"Indeterminate location," Cassie asked with a puzzled look.

Johnny snapped his finger, "He must mean Shang Tsung's Island! As it's stuck between the realms of Earth and Outworld, it's nearly impossible to directly determine it's location! Whatever's going on, it must be happening there. I'd swear on it."

Sub-Zero clenched his fist while furrowing his brow, "Then we know where we must go. Kronika must be at Shang Tsung's Island!"

Johnny agreed, "Then it's time to get things moving. There's no time to lose."

All of them cleared out from the hut to prepare to head to Shang Tsung's Island. Sub-Zero would leave with Smoke to gather the Lin Kuei, Scorpion would rally the Shirai Ryu, and Johnny would head to Outworld with Cetrion to recruit Kotal and his army. The incoming battle to preserve the timeline was coming.

* * *

_MKDemigodZ-Warrior you can draw your own conclusions on Ferra/Torr. Did they escape elsewhere or were they victims of Raiden's wrath? I feel that you could go either way on that one._

_That concludes this chapter. With the next one, we'll move to Shang Tsung's Island for a primarily villain focused chapter. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that I'll see you in the next one! Thanks for reading._


	12. The Wraith's Machinations

At Shang Tsung's Island Noob Saibot stood alone in Goro's Lair. The derelict dungeon had somehow grown even more decrepit. The walls were slowly crumbling and a leaks were common. The ground was coated in puddles of water. The bodies that once hung on the walls were little more than decomposed skeletons on the floor now.

Noob paced back and forth repeatedly, planning on what he was going to do next. Noob had learned a lot from his dead master. The most important lesson he had learned was how to attain power for yourself. While it was easy to assume that Noob was simply brought back by Kronika, there was more to it than that. Noob had actually survived the Soulnado. Though the angered whirlwind of souls tried to tear him apart, he refused to die. Noob instead ascended to a higher plane of existence.

This is where he met the real Shinnok. Shinnok was impressed by his will to survive and the sheer evil energy emanating from within him. It seemed that Quan-Chi had outdone himself with the creation of Noob. The two struck a deal. Noob would remain Shinnok's eyes and ears in the mortal plane, always hiding in the shadows. This is why he never returned until now.

As Noob reflected back on his past, he chuckled to himself. Years of planning were soon to pay off. The wraith had learned one very important lesson from his creator and master. That was to attain power, no matter the costs. To him, Shinnok was a disposable master. Soon enough, the time would come to dispose of him.

As his triumph came closer, Noob sank into the ground. He rose back up in the Prison of Souls. He looked across the prison almost with an odd tinge of nostalgia. Many years ago, when he was still Sub-Zero, Noob had escaped the Prison of Souls. Now here he was, returning to it. He came here with a specific purpose. Noob sought out someone special.

He approached a prison cell guarded by two Keepers. Whereas he once had to fight the Keepers, now they listened to him. He motioned for them to step aside, so they did. He opened the door to the cell, finding Sareena sitting in a corner in the fetal position, facing towards the wall. He placed his hand on her shoulder. She looked up to him in fear, "Who are you?!"

"I am Noob Saibot," he plainly said back to her. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her off the ground. "Follow me," he commanded.

As the two walked away from the cell, Sareena came to recognize him, "Wait! I know you, you're one of Quan-Chi's lackeys! What do you want with me?"

"I am no longer Quan-Chi's lackey," he corrected, "and you should know what I want with you. Unless...oh, you don't know."

"What don't I know?"

Noob chuckled with a devious grin forming under his mask, "You'll just have to guess."

It was undeniable that to Sareena, Noob had this certain presence to him. He seemed oddly familiar in a weird way. Still, she couldn't place it. Perhaps it was just that Noob seemed so similar to every other maniacal henchman of Shinnok.

"Where are you taking me," she asked him.

"I'm fulfilling an old promise," he answered, "I'm taking you to Earthrealm so that you can witness my ultimate triumph."

An old promise...? Sareena stopped, forcing Noob to stop alongside her. Her gaze was directed to his eyes and he simply stared back at her. His soulless, steely stare shook her to her very core. Looking into his eyes, that's when she made the connection. Her jaw dropped.

Noob sadistically laughed upon her figuring it out, "Go on. Say it."

"No...! You can't be him, he escaped," she yelled, trying to deny what she now knew.

"You're right," Noob said back to her in an exaggeratedly sad tone, "I did escape. Fortunately, I came back. You're right in that I'm not him, though. I'm better than he ever was."

"You're not," she hissed, "the Sub-Zero I knew was a hero! He saved me!"

Upon being called a hero, all Noob could do was smugly smirk as he dismissively shook his head. He stifled a laugh as he placed his hand over his mask, "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I wasn't a hero even back then. Here's something you might not know, but in life I was an assassin. I didn't intend on saving you in the first place. That was just happenstance."

Sareena snarled at him, "You're wrong! He had the chance to kill me, but he spared me instead. Besides, if he didn't care for me at least a little, then why are you here for me now?"

Noob didn't have an answer for that. He simply grabbed her arm even tighter, causing her great pain. She let out a grunt but wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a full-on scream. He let go, "If you don't want to be free, then so be it. I gave you a choice to escape the Netherrealm but your ungrateful attitude has me rethinking this decision." He started walking away. Sareena ran up to him and tripped in her hurry. She wrapped her arms around his leg.

"Wait! I...I'm sorry. Please, just get me out of here. I'll do anything."

Noob knelt down and offered his hand. She grabbed it and the two sank into a pitch black liquid.

They rose back up in Goro's Lair. Sareena smiled upon her arrival, "So...this is what it's like on Earthrealm. The air feels so clean. It's so cool too. It doesn't feel like I'm sweltering. Tell me, why did you bring me here?"

"I wanted you to be here when I achieve my final victory."

In a weird way, it truly did feel like that Bi-Han still felt some form of affection for her. Still, Sareena couldn't just take this. He just wasn't the same man she fell in love with. The way he treated her so far was simply terrible. But, it was better than being stuck in the Netherrealm wasn't it? She wasn't sure.

Noob could see how conflicted she was. He was certain she was contemplating escaping. That was fine, where could she run away to on an island? Once he attained Kronika and Shinnok's power for himself, it would be all too easy to corrupt her into a being of evil like him.

Speaking of which, Noob could feel Shinnok's presence. He turned back to Sareena and tilted his head towards one of the many cells in the dungeon. She got the message and retreated into it. A massive hole split open in the ceiling, sending debris everywhere. The bright sunlight contrasted harshly with the interior of Goro's lair, making Noob shield his eyes from the bright light.

A portal appeared above the hole in the ceiling and Kronika's hourglass was lowered into the hole. Shinnok and Kronika flew down. Noob knelt before them, "Greetings, masters. I have located Shang Tsung's Well of Souls just as you have asked me to."

Shinnok folded his hands in a pleased manner, "Well done, Noob. Lead us to it."

Noob grabbed one of the torches perched upon the wall and marched into one of the darkened corridors of the labyrinthian dungeon. Kronika and Shinnok followed closely behind.

After about five minutes, they arrived. Noob threw the torch into a massive firepit, lighting the entire chamber up. He pointed towards the massive round gateway adorned with the dragon symbol upon it and coated with the writings of some kind of language, "According to these ancient runes, the souls are contained here. It requires some form of spell to open it."

Shinnok paid little heed to those runes and raised his arm towards it. He blasted the gateway open, "Spells like that are for commoners like Shang Tsung. I find that sheer power works well in most cases."

As the gateway was torn apart into little more than dust, hundreds of thousands of souls flooded out from it. Kronika promptly absorbed every single one of them. Her power was greatly increased as a smoky green aura surrounded her. All three of them were teleported back to the Hourglass.

Kronika held her hands high, causing the Hourglass to float into the air. The souls came draining out from her and into it. The sands within the Hourglass weren't even slowed down, let alone reversed. Kronika slammed her fist against it, "I can't believe this! I thought that should have been enough."

"You were wrong," Shinnok sneered disappointedly, "where else are we going to get the power we need?"

"The life force of another Elder God might be enough," Kronika replied, directing her attention to Shinnok.

Shinnok squinted his eyes with a cocked eyebrow, "You aren't implying what I'm thinking you're implying, are you?"

"Of course not..."

Shinnok growled at her, "You know I'm more powerful than you. You could never beat me in a straight fight."

Kronika turned away from him and thoughtfully rubbed her chin, "There must be another way."

Sektor flew down into the hole, landing on his left knee and right fist. He bowed his head before them, "Masters, my scanners have detected a fleet coming towards the island. I fear that it is what remains of the Special Forces and their allies."

Both Kronika and Shinnok knowingly smiled at each other. Perhaps the Special Forces' souls combined with the souls of their own minions would be strong enough.

"Open a portal to the Netherrealm," Kronika commanded, "have Liu Kang and his men summoned here at once!"

Sektor stood up and nodded. He pressed a button on his forearm and a portal projected out from his wrist. Sektor stepped in. Seconds later, he stepped back out. Following with him was Liu Kang, his fellow revenants, Geras, and the entire Brotherhood of Shadow.

Liu was shocked to see Shinnok standing before them, "What's he doing here?! I thought he was dead!"

Shinnok crossed his arms with a smug expression on his face, "That is what happens when you make such assumptions. The decapitated head that currently resides within your possession is little more than that of a copy."

"Never mind that," Kronika interrupted, "it is time for you and your allies to prove your worth to us! Invaders to this island are coming. You must defeat them all."

Kitana pulled out the blades sheathed on her back and popped them out into fans, "We will make short work of them."

"I have reason to doubt that," Shinnok said with an unimpressed frown and furrowed brow, "You failed my copy, be certain you do not fail the real thing."

Liu clenched his teeth in rage, "You do not command my army! Only I may lead them!"

Shinnok didn't comment, he only snorted in a dismissive fashion. Liu glared at him with a twisted grimace upon his face.

Kronika snapped her fingers and pointed forward, "Enough of this pettiness! Go to the shoreline, protect the Hourglass!"

Liu obliged, leaping high into the air and into the Courtyard above. He ran towards the shoreline of the island, his fellow revenants and soldiers following closely behind.

Kronika and Shinnok levitated into the air, landing in the Courtyard. The Hourglass went with them. When they were gone, Noob and Sektor looked to each other.

"How much longer do we have to wait," Sektor asked the wraith.

"We must wait until the Hourglass is fully powered," Noob answered, "Only then may we take control of it."

He whistled, summoning Havik from the shadows. Havik stepped forward, holding the Portal Stone. Noob snatched it, "Soon enough this power will finally be ours for the taking."

At the shore of Shang Tsung's Island, the forces of the Netherrealm and the Tekunin were waiting for the Special Forces to arrive.

That's when it was spotted. A massive battleship was closing in on the island. "They're arriving," one of the Tekunin cyborgs called out.

Liu turned to Geras, "Go to their ship. Stop them."

Geras nodded once and leapt high into the air.

The battle to preserve the timeline has officially begun...

* * *

_This chapter came with a bit of a delay compared to previous ones. I was unsure of the direction I went with it and I deleted a lot of it about halfway through writing it to start again. I'm still not sure if I went with the right decision. I feel maybe I shoehorned Sareena in but I really wanted to have her appear. The games really underutilize her when she has a lot of potential. Since this chapter was mostly focused on Noob, I felt that it was only natural she'd appear here._

_As always, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that I'll see you in the next one!_


	13. Arrival on the Island

Geras landed on the approaching battleship with a loud thud, shaking the mobile fortress to it's very core. The impact felt like it was strong enough to sink the entire ship. Geras stood up, his steely gaze slowly looking across everyone onboard. Present Johnny stood forward, taking a combat ready stance. He gave a cocky smirk as he said, "Time for a rematch."

Stepping in front of Johnny was Triborg. Johnny frowned as this happened, "You know, I totally had this."

Triborg looked back while pushing Johnny aside. "I do not doubt that," Triborg said with perhaps just a hint of undetectable sarcasm, "but I will handle this."

Geras cracked his neck and then his knuckles, "So, a cyborg?"

"Incorrect. I am fully robotic," Triborg replied.

Geras charged forward with his arm wound back. As he approached, he threw his fist forward. Triborg caught it. Geras was taken aback by this, "Impressive! Few have been able to withstand my blows." The golem tried to break through Triborg's grasp, but the android held his own. Triborg shoved Geras away and launched at least a dozen small missiles from his chest.

Geras simply tanked the blasts while running towards Triborg. He tried grabbing Triborg but Triborg fell down, catching himself with repulsor jets built into his back and flying right under Geras' legs. He reappeared behind Geras, wrapping his arms around his neck.

"You know," Triborg began, "we are not dissimilar, Geras. We were both created to serve our masters. However, I do not serve the Special Forces simply due to my programming. I serve them out of gratitude and because I believe in what they fight for. Can you say the same?"

Geras reached back, slammed Triborg to the ground, and then stomped on him repeatedly.

"We are as different as they come, I am not a simple robot! I am not programmed to serve anybody!" Geras denied as he tried stomping Triborg's face in

Triborg caught Geras' foot midstomp and held it up above him.

"You are not programmed, yet you are still Kronika's slave? That does not compute."

Geras tried to slam his foot down but Triborg wasn't budging.

"I am not a slave!"

Triborg tripped Geras as he was distracted, pulling himself back up. Geras stood back up as well, staring the robot down, "Tell me, automaton, what is it that you hope to do by asking me these things?"

"I simply wish to understand what you get out of this. If you are not programmed and are not a slave, then for what purpose do you serve Kronika? Do you believe in her cause? Has she shown any gratitude for your service?"

Geras' stance changed after being asked these questions. His aggressive yet confident position became a half hearted slouch. His eyes darted to the side to avoid eye contact with the android, "She...she created me. That is enough for me to be loyal to her."

"Insufficient reasoning," Triborg replied. Geras tried to tackle Triborg, but he simply flew away from the attack. Geras growled while using his limited time manipulation abilities to rewind it just enough so that he actually makes the tackle. Geras sat up as he held his hands together and slammed his two arms against Triborg's chest like a hammer. He then tore right through Triborg's pectoral chest plates, tossing them aside. This exposed a massive cavity in the center of Triborg's chest. Geras reached into it, but was met with a nasty surprise as fire came blowing out from it.

Geras pulled back, standing up. Triborg flew back up, twitching slightly from the damage he had received. Once again, Geras went in for the kill. Triborg leapt above Geras' attack, landing behind him. A set of blades popped out of Triborg's wrists. Thinking quickly, the android slashed both of his opponent's arms right off. Geras turned around and kicked Triborg in the stomach. Triborg held his ground by magnetizing himself to the ship's metal floor. After this, Triborg proceeded to slice Geras' legs off.

Geras' disembodied torso and head fell to the floor, bleeding out immensely. Geras looked up in awe, "Excellent strategy. You know I can simply reverse my death, so you choose not to kill me. But I will bleed out and die soon enough."

Triborg aimed both of its wrists at Geras' stump limbs. Flames spat out from them, cauterizing the wounds to prevent anymore blood from leaking out. After that Triborg picked Geras up by his neck, walked towards the edge of the ship, and held him up over the ocean.

Geras began to panic, "Wait, what are you doing?! Y-you wouldn't drop me, would you?!" In what could be the first time in his life, Geras felt something beyond the momentary rage and joy fighting brought him. He felt fear. Without his limbs, he reasonably wouldn't have any way to leave the sea floor. He'd be trapped there. Maybe not forever, but it'd be a long time in isolation.

Triborg considered it, yet realized that there was a small chance that perhaps a shark or some other predator would come and eat Geras, thusly killing him. There were many outside factors that could intervene in this situation. Thinking of an alternate solution, Triborg looked up to the sky.

"Space..."

Triborg readied himself for flight, but was stopped by a hand placed on his shoulder.

"Where do you think you're going?" Cassie Cage asked.

Johnny stepped forward as well, while adding, "I hope you aren't planning on pulling a Terminator 2 on us."

Triborg looked back, "I'm afraid this is the only way."

Jax shook his head, "You don't gotta throw your life away just to take care 'a this guy. We'll find another way. Special Forces don't leave each other behind. Not even retired ones like me."

"There's always cryogenic stasis," Jacqui suggested.

Geras looked across them all in surprised awe, "This robot is willing to throw his life away to save you all and you won't even let him?"

This shocked the golem to his very core. Geras had taken the gift of immortality for granted.

"You're right," he finally admitted to Triborg, "I am a slave to Kronika."

"Then it's time to break free," Triborg said back to him.

Geras' gave a nervous and defeated chuckle in response. "There is nothing I can do. I fear that if I rebel, she will kill me. She will kill all of us. Nobody here will be able to stand against her."

"It's better to die free than to live as a slave," Jacqui added, "even if it's hopeless, we have to fight."

Cassie nodded, "We've beaten an Elder God once, we can do it again."

Geras frowned upon her mentioning that, "You didn't beat an Elder God. All you did was-"

Before he could finish that sentence, Geras' simply disintegrated into grains of sand that blew away in the wind. Everyone who had witnessed this was quite horrified.

"Holy shit!" past Johnny exclaimed while lowering his sunglasses.

Cassie did a double take, "Okay, what the hell just happened?!"

"It's possible that Kronika killed him to insure that we wouldn't know that Shinnok is still alive," Sub-Zero said.

"Right, right," Cassie said, "I can't believe I forgot that so soon. Guess that when you have it in your head you beat an Elder God, it's hard to accept that you really didn't."

Present Johnny rubbed his chin, "Then does this mean they don't know that we know?"

"They probably know now," Jax said.

"This conversation's giving me a headache," past Johnny said to himself while rubbing his temples.

Suddenly, the boat was rocked. It had crashed into the sandy shore of the island. Present Johnny pointed forward, "Alright! C'mon, people! Let's go!"

They all leapt off of the boat and charged directly into battle. Awaiting them was a massive hoard of enemies that consisted of the Tekunin and the Netherrealm's army. Leading these forces were Sektor and Liu Kang.

All that was left on the boat was Triborg. He hung his head to express his sorrow, upset that Geras didn't even have a chance to try and redeem himself. He looked down to the chaos currently unfolding on the island. After a few seconds, he took off towards the battle below.

As the battle unfolded, Shinnok waited within Goro's Lair. He watched the battle through an orb held in his hands. He watched with a smirk forming on his face "If we're lucky, they'll all kill each other."

Noob nodded in agreement, "I'm certain they will."

Shinnok looked to his subordinate as his smirk turned to a dismissive glare, "By the way, I know what you're thinking. I'll admit, it's a clever little plan. Waiting until there are none left to oppose you, teleporting Kronika and I away with the portal stone, then taking the hourglass for yourself? You've thought all of it out, haven't you?"

Noob nervously looked away as he started to step away, "I would never betray you, master. My loyalty lies with the Brotherhood of Shadow! To you!"

Shinnok shook his head, "You really are Quan Chi's successor. Always plotting a betrayal. You two never really knew that I was always a step ahead of you. You were so overconfident in your plan to subvert me, you never thought what to do if I found out? Actually, that's not true..."

Shinnok approached Noob while reaching outwards towards him, "I didn't just find out. I always knew. When you have the power I do, there's always going to be those who covet it."

Noob batted the Shinnok's arm away, "So what are you going to do, then? Kill me?"

Shinnok laughed, "You're still quite the valuable asset, why would I kill you? If anything, this tenacity is what I like to see from my subordinates. But know that your inevitable failed attempt to try and take my power is worth a lot less than what I can reward you if you remain loyal to me."

"What can you offer me that I could possibly want?"

Shinnok motioned his hand to a darkened corner of Goro's Lair. Walking out from the shadows was Sareena, but she had changed. Her skin was pitch black, just as Noob's was. The white streak in her hair was completely gone. She silently kneeled beneath Noob.

Noob looked down upon her, placing his hand on her cheek. She gazed up at him with a vacant stare. He motioned upwards and she rose back up. Shinnok smirked at Noob as he offered out his hand, "This is just one of many things I can offer to you."

The wraith did a double take after realizing the implications of this, "I don't understand, how did you corrupt her so quickly? How did you know she was here in the first place?"

"The power of an Elder God is truly something to behold, isn't it? All of what you've seen before? Less than half of my power from a far inferior copy."

Noob smacked away Shinnok's hand as he stepped away, "I...no! This cannot be! I planned it all out!"

"Don't kid yourself," Shinnok replied dismissively, "you hadn't accounted for nearly enough variables. Though your efforts were good, you simply cannot compare to someone who's been planning this for millions of years and two timelines." Again, Shinnok offered his hand, "Once again, I offer you two options. Join me or become a brainwashed puppet, just like Sareena."

Noob aggressively attempted to tackle Shinnok, but the fallen Elder God responded by raising his arm and opening his hand. Noob instantly collapsed onto the ground and started writhing in intense agony. Shinnok shook his head, "Such a shame." He pulled his arm inward and clenched his fist. As he did, Noob began to scream as he feebily tried crawling away.

Shinnok relinquished and as he did, Noob fell silent while also going completely limp. Noob stood back up, his transformation into a mindless slave complete. Shinnok nodded his head as he inspected his new minion, "Ahh yes, now this is perfect. Quan Chi's ultimate folly was allowing even the slightest bit of free will in his creations."

Shinnok pointed forward, ordering Noob to go out and fight. Without question, Noob agreed and vanished into the ground. Shinnok folded his hands, everything going according to plan. But his self assured mood would not last as he felt a new presence on the island.

"...Cetrion," he said to himself. His brow furrowed and his smirk formed into a rather disgusted scowl, "So, one of the other Elder Gods has finally decided to fight for the precious mortals they hold so dear? Then, so it shall be."

* * *

_Styles - Extreme, thank you for the review and clarification. I am well aware that in the game, Kronika is a Titan. I'm just not a big fan of the Titans. I feel that their existence simply doesn't mesh well with the lore of the previously established games and it devalues the Elder Gods, especially Shinnok. So in this rewrite, I just made her an Elder God._

_Anyway, I'm not going to even humor you guys. There's no reason this chapter should be so late but it is. I guess I had real writer's block for this one. I'm not going to say the next one will be out sooner than this one since there's a real chance it probably won't. I'm sorry for the wait, though. I've just been distracted with other things, such as ideas for other fanfics so my interest in this story has certainly been waning compared to when I started it. Still, I won't write anything else until I see this through, that much is certain._

_I've also been unsure of the direction it's taken. Before, I had been trying to make sure this story might be able to work in a hypothetical regular MK story mode which is why earlier chapters had a major focus on just one character per chapter and I tried to put in instances where a fight either takes place or potentially could take place. I've since abandoned that because that really limits what you're able to do and write. It's a deeply flawed storytelling system that's quite hard to work with._

_Either way, I will try to get this finished. I started out with the idea of this being a fairly short story (roughly 15 or so chapters) and we're definitely approaching the climax so we'll see. As always, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter._

* * *

_Edit: Well, I just noticed a continuity error. Originally, in this chapter, I had everyone react with shock that Shinnok might still be alive. Apparently, I forgot that Cetrion already mentioned this in the previous chapter. This is what happens when you take a prolonged break from a story and don't check previous chapters to be sure of what you wrote. I apologize for this error._


	14. Brothers United

The battle to preserve the current timeline had finally begun. The shoreline of the island had become a massive warzone. Things were looking tough for the forces of Earthrealm. Even with their great warriors, the sheer numbers that made up Kronika's army proved to be overwhelming. Salvation came in the form of Cetrion opening a portal. Stepping out from the portal was Jade. She smirked under her mask.

Jade silently pointed forward with her staff. When she did, dozens and dozens of soldiers poured out from the portal that was now behind her.

Tarkatans, Shokan, and Kotal's guardsman all joined in the fray, giving the heroes a much needed reprieve from the onslaught. Indeed, things were quickly turning around. It seemed that things were finally going in their favor.

With things looking good, Cetrion called forward four warriors to accompany her approach to the gateway of main hall of the island. This is where Shinnok and Kronika would be found. The four warriors chosen were present Johnny Cage, Kung Lao, Sub-Zero, and Scorpion.

The five of them quickly made haste but were then intercepted by Noob and Sektor. Sektor grabbed Sub-Zero from behind with a chokehold and Noob Saibot partially crawled out from the ground and grabbed Scorpion by the ankle. Scorpion pointed forward, "Go on without us!"

Sub-Zero agreed, "We'll take care of these three! You must continue forward!"

Cetrion knew that time was running out, so she had little choice but to continue forward. Johnny and Kung Lao followed after her.

Sub-Zero broke free of Sektor's grasp and ice slid away from him to get some distance. Scorpion lit his legs on fire, forcing Noob to let go and sink back into the ground. The Shirai Ryu and Lin Kuei warriors stood back to back.

Noob rose back out from the ground with Sareena at his side, both of them with a dead look in their eyes. Sub-Zero looked to Scorpion, "Something seems off..."

"Something is off," Scorpion asserted, "I can sense it. Quan Chi's hold over him is no more. Something far worse has taken him."

"What do you think it is?"

"Shinnok."

Sub-Zero's turned his gaze back at his brother with a sense of despondence hidden just beneath his cold exterior.

"Take on Sektor. I want to see my brother personally," Sub-Zero suggested.

Scorpion nodded as the two switched places. Sub-Zero approached Noob. The wraith didn't even react to seeing his brother.

"No clever comments about seeing me, Noob?" Sub-Zero said, if only to add some levity to this situation.

Noob simply stared forward. He wasn't even making eye contact with Kuai. It was clear that whatever was left of Bi-Han and even Noob was completely gone. Kuai clenched his fist as he gritted his teeth. Wordlessly, he charged forward with his fist wound back behind him.

He swung his fist forward but hesitated. He stopped just before the hit landed. His hand was mere centimeters away from Noob's chest. He didn't even move. However, Sareena stepped in front of Noob and grabbed Sub-Zero's fist. Sub-Zero was taken aback by this. He tried breaking free of her grasp, but her grip was surprisingly strong. As he struggled, Noob then retaliated by slamming his palm into Sub-Zero's jaw. Sub-Zero crashed into the sand.

Sub-Zero got back up, cracking his neck, "Not bad." They both came running at him. He leapt above Sareena, shooting an ice blast at her. She was frozen. Unfortunately for him, Noob had disappeared in the interim. Suddenly, Noob reappeared behind Sub-Zero and put him in a choke hold. As he did that, he also shot a shadow ball at the frozen Sareena, breaking her free from her icy prison. Sareena unsheathed a pair of small daggers. She rammed them both into Sub-Zero's shoulders. He screamed in agony as she dug them deeper. After this, Noob kicked him to the ground.

Kuai slammed into the dirt face first. He tried pulling himself back up but was only met with Noob stomping him back down each time. With blood leaking out from his shoulders and mouth, he felt like that now was his time to die.

With nothing left to try, he cried out to his brother, "Bi-Han!" Noob paused, tilting his head. This gave Sub-Zero a chance to turn around and look his brother in the face. For the first time in the entire fight, Noob was actually looking directly at him. Kuai called out to him, "I'm sorry I gave up on you all those years ago, Bi-Han. If I hadn't...then perhaps, I could have saved you."

Noob knelt down. He held his hand out. Kuai looked at the hand and then to Noob himself. There was emotion in those eyes. Kuai took Noob's hand and he pulled his brother back up.

"Shinnok's control is broken." Noob stated.

"I didn't know it was going to be that easy." Sub-Zero said.

"That old fool should have known why Quan Chi let us retain some form of free will." Noob replied. "If he didn't, we would have broken free of our control much easier. If you give something the illusion of free will, it will remain under your control. Take away that illusion, then it will take any chance it has to escape."

Sub-Zero pulled out the daggers still in his shoulders, "Shinnok's a god, he thinks us mortals will just bow to him. He couldn't be more wrong."

Sareena interrupted their reunion by lunging at Sub-Zero. She wrapped her hands around his neck as she sneered and growled. Her skin started to shift to a craggly gray hide. Her entire face melted away to revealing a snarling demonic skull-like visage with glowing yellow eyes and sharpened teeth. The markings on her face were now etched into her skin with a molten, glowing outline. Sub-Zero threw her off and backed away. Sareena stood back up, now standing taller than him. In spite of her height, she was abormally thin in this form, with gangly elongated limbs and bent back hind legs. She swiped her claws at Sub-Zero, who just narrowly avoided it by diving backwards.

Noob called out her name, "Sareena!"

Sareena turned her head back at him.

"You don't need to do this." He said as he cautiously approached her with his hands in front of him. "You broke free of Quan Chi's grasp. I'm certain you can break free of Shinnok's too."

At first she snarled and growled as he closely approached her but the closer he got, the more calm she became. Sareena placed her hand upon his cheek. As she did, she reverted back to her more human-like form. She nearly fell to the ground but Noob caught her before she did. She softly smiled at him with her eyes half shut, "I never even learned your real name."

"Bi-Han," he answered as he held her in his arms.

"Thank you, Bi-Han." Sareena quietly said as she fell limp.

Sub-Zero looked down at her with concern, "Is she...?"

"No," he responded, "she just need to rest. Assuming that form takes a lot of energy out of her."

However, their touching moment would be cut short as Sektor laughed.

"Isn't this touching?" Sektor sarcastically asked as he tossed aside a fallen Scorpion.

Scorpion was barely able to say, "I'm sorry, Sub-Zero. He was just too strong." After that, he completely collapsed.

Sub-Zero limped forward, ready to fight the cyborg menace. "I beat you once, Sektor. I will do it again."

Sektor laughed, "I'm stronger than I was back then! I have more upgrades. Besides, you're not looking so hot."

Bi-Han stood in front of Sub-Zero, "I'll take care of him. You need to rest, brother."

"I already lost you once-" Sub-Zero tried to say but Bi-Han stopped him, "You won't lose me again."

Sub-Zero obliged after that, stepping down to take a rest.

Sektor shook his head, "That's such a shame. I liked you better before, Bi-Han. What about our plan?"

"Shinnok has already seen through our plan." Bi-Han answered. "He knows everything. He's smarter and stronger than I had thought. He had me brainwashed until my brother broke me free. We couldn't have ever hoped to take control of his plan."

Sektor crossed his arms, "Bah! That's what you think! If you refuse, then I'll just take him on myself."

"Are you insane?! He's an Elder God! There's not only him, but there's also Kronika. You have no chance alone! We're stronger together. If we all unite, we might be able to beat them."

"I am beyond even them at this point." Sektor retorted. "My technology is flawless. I am the closest a mortal has ever become to feeling like a god. I have an endless legion under my command, all willing to do as I say. I can transfer my mind between any of them or even all of them at once! Soon, I WILL be a god!"

"Your technology is a crutch to make up for your lack of skill." Bi-Han said with much disgust.

Sektor snapped at him, "Just as you and your brothers' powers were? You've always had it easy. You're just mad that I've finally surpassed that power."

"I've got more than just power backing me up," Bi-Han replied as he dive kicked at Sektor. Sektor grabbed him by the foot and tossed him into a nearby boulder. He then charged forward and rammed Bi-Han with his shoulder. The boulder smashed into pieces as Bi-Han flew backwards, kicking up sand in all kinds of directions. He sank into the ground just before Sektor rammed his fist into him.

Bi-Han reappeared from the ground and uppercut Sektor. Sektor then teleported away himself. He reappeared over Bi-Han and slammed him into the dirt. He began wailing on Bi-Han as dozens of his drones surrounded him. The hoard was simply overwhelming, even if he defeated Sektor, he'd just reemerge in a different body. Perhaps it truly was over.

But then, Sub-Zero leapt in with a large freezing blast. He formed a pair of ice axes which he then used to slice well over half of the frozen robots in half. However, the other half broke free and then turned their focus to him.

Sub-Zero was still exhausted, it took a lot of effort to summon that large blast and then his weaponry. There was no way he could just do it again. One by one, the androids piled on to him. He tried to fight them back. He slammed an axe into one of their heads and kicked it away. He sliced off another one's head and threw it into others. Yet, they just got back up. In spite of his best efforts, there was nothing to be done. He looked out across from the surrounding hoard and saw Bi-Han struggling with Sektor.

It seemed that just as the two brothers were reunited, they would now die together. At least they could take solace in that they reunited before they died. However, just then, something unexpected arrived at the island. It was present timeline Frost. She raised her hand and the group of robots all stopped as they began convulsing in an erratic manner. They then collapsed to the ground.

Sub-Zero couldn't believe his eyes, "Frost? What are you doing here?"

"When Sektor took my army, I vowed I'd shut down every last one of them as revenge." She bluntly answered. "I located all of his secret hideouts. Every single one of them. You wouldn't believe how many there were, all across the world."

Sektor stopped fighting Bi-Han as he took notice to her. He directed his attention to her, "Well done! But the knowledge of those bases is meaningless as long as I still survive."

He charged at her and the two began to grapple. Sektor gloated, "Your cyborg body is still inferior to my fully robotic body! There's no way you could possibly hope to defeat me in a fight."

Sub-Zero then joined in to defend her, dropkicking Sektor. Sektor let go of Frost and stumbled back. He laughed, "So the master has come to save the student?"

"Why did you do that?" Frost asked.

"You're still my student. I won't let you die. Not by his hands."

Sektor backhanded Kuai and then kicked him in the stomach, "Touching! How very touching! But a foolish mistake! You could have escaped but now, you have sealed your fate!"

Just then, past Frost appeared and froze Sektor to the ground. She then slid in and uppercut him. Sektor flew high into the air, but didn't come down. He stayed in the air with his jet boosters. He came down and slammed right into her. She went down to the ground with a loud thud.

Cyborg Frost was baffled seeing a younger version of her, "Is that...? Oh my god."

Sub-Zero called out to her, "Frost! Get out of here! Save yourself!"

Again, Cyborg Frost was astonished, "He...he's willing to sacrifice himself to save me?"

Past Frost refused her master's demands, "No! I won't let this bastard kill you!"

Sektor picked her up by her throat and began to choke her, "Ahh! Isn't that sweet? Then I shall let you two die together! How's that?" He strutted towards Sub-Zero and grabbed him by the throat too.

"And she's willing to die for him...?" Cyborg Frost thought to herself. She looked at her past counterpart and now her present master. She closed her eyes and lower her head. She flew towards Sektor and rammed him upwards. Both went flying high into the sky.

Sektor again gloated, "You think you can fight me?! Your cyborg body is no match for my fully robotic body! I've fought Scorpion, Noob Saibot, your past self, and your master to a standstill today! My power is unmatched!"

"You're right," Frost said, "that's why I'm not gonna fight you." After that, she blew up. Sektor was taken aback by this sacrifice as he was swallowed whole by the explosion. After those two were blown up, all the cyborgs across the battlefield also exploded, vastly decreasing Shinnok and Kronika's forces.

Sub-Zero looked up to the sky as he reached out, "No! Dammit! No!"

Past Frost turned to him, "Who was that blue cyborg?"

"That was you," Sub-Zero answered, "your counterpart in the present."

"My what?!" Frost asked while panicking. "That was ME?! That's my destiny?!"

Sub-Zero placed his hand on her shoulder, "No. We've already changed your future, Frost. Shame it was too late for her, though. But at least she did something good in the end."

Frost picked up a piece of scrap from her future counterpart's remains and stared at it intently. She then held her head with her hand, "Time travel sucks."

Bi-Han walked towards them, cradling Sareena in his arms and with a limping Scorpion using him as support.

"I'm sorry I couldn't have helped you more," Scorpion said, "but Sektor...he fought like a monster."

"It's alright." Sub-Zero replied. "He bested all of us today. If it weren't for Frost's sacrifice, we might all be dead right now."

"I can't believe what happened to Sektor. Was I like that?" Bi-Han asked.

"Yes." Sub-Zero replied directly. "However, unlike Sektor, it wasn't of your own volition. Quan Chi made you a monster, Sektor was always one."

Scorpion looked across the dwindling Netherrealm forces, "Looks like we're winning. Let's hope Johnny, Kung Lao, and Cetrion will be able to say the same."

* * *

_ Been awhile since the last update, huh? Not like that's unusual at this point. I can keep apologizing for this but like I said, I've been struggling for ideas. Today, though, I finally decided to sit down and finish this chapter. There was A LOT to fit in here. There would have been even more if I decided to write Scorpion and Sektor's fight rather than leaving it offscreen. _

_ I hope nobody finds that to be upsetting, by the way. I don't want Scorpion to come across as a jobber, that wasn't the intent. Sektor pretty much beat EVERYONE in this chapter. Except for Sareena. If she wasn't out, she actually might have been able to take him on in her demon form. Still, I wanted Sektor to come across as a genuine threat since they've been treating him so poorly in the games lately. Again, sorry if you're upset by that but I just didn't want to write it._

_ I really like how this chapter came out, actually. First time I could say that in awhile. Hopefully, you'll agree. Either way, we're really closing in on the ending soon. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish this fic soon. We'll see. Until then, thanks for reading!_


	15. Earthrealm's Champions

Cetrion, Kung Lao, and Johnny Cage headed deep within the island's compound. There was surprisingly very little in the way of obstacles.

As they further approached the two fallen Elder Gods, Cetrion could sense their presence. It was something she hadn't felt in a long time. Not since they were both banished for trying to interfere in the affairs of mortals. Emotionally, she was uncertain. The Elder Gods easily could have made their punishment more severe, yet they didn't. This was something Cetrion came to regret. If only they had, then perhaps these events wouldn't be coming to pass. Unfortunately, it appeared she was the only Elder God who felt this way.

All three of them arrived at was once Shang Tsung's throne room. Sitting in the throne was Kronika and standing at her side was Shinnok and Liu Kang.

She greeted Cetrion with a false smile, "Ahhhh, I knew I had felt your presence, Cetrion. Surprising to see a third Elder God here. I thought you weren't able to interfere in the affairs of mortals."

"I refuse to stand idly by as you threaten all of their reality." Cetrion said with a determined tone.

Shinnok laughed, "Is that so? You've stood idly by for so long. What made you change your mind now?"

"Your interference!" She yelled as she flew at both of them.

Kronika motioned Liu Kang forward, "Keep the two mortals distracted!" Then she turned to Shinnok, "We shall take care of Cetrion."

Shinnok grinned as he leapt at Cetrion with Kronika, "So be it!"

Liu Kang went at Johnny with a flying kick. Johnny ducked under it and turned back around. Liu and Johnny stared each other down for a few seconds. Liu Kang went in with the first punch and Johnny blocked it.

As the two traded blows, it was clear both were incredibly skilled warriors. Obviously so, seeing as they were both Earthrealm's chosen warriors at one point.

Johnny was giving it his all, yet Liu managed to keep up with all of his attacks. For every punch he threw, Liu countered it. For every kick he swung, Liu dodged it. For every energy ball he tossed out, Liu tossed out a fireball to counteract it. Johnny had gotten cocky, he thought this fight would be easy. Liu Kang was washed up and wasn't at all what he used to be. Turns out, that assumption was wrong. Earthrealm's champion was still as strong as ever.

Yet, the same was true on the other half of the battle. Liu Kang didn't think Johnny was all that tough. A primadonna movie star who was more of a showboater than an actual fighter. That's certainly what he was when Liu was still alive, but times had changed vastly since then. Liu Kang didn't want to admit it but Johnny WAS a worthy successor to the role of Earthrealm's champion. This only made Liu angrier, causing his fighting to become sloppier. Johnny remained steadfast and composed in the fight.

"Just die already!" Liu aggressively cried out.

Johnny responded with a smug smirk and a quip, "Not happenin'!"

Neither of them had landed a single hit on each other in the entire fight. At this point, it was now more a battle of stamina and will than it was a physical battle. Whoever would lapse first would be the one to ultimately lose. That moment finally seemingly came when Liu Kang managed to grab both of Johnny's fists. This finally left an opening and Liu took advantage of it. He tried to kick Johnny in the stomach. Unfortunately for him, Johnny flipped forward, still holding onto Liu, and threw him across the throne room. He crashed into Shang's throne with a loud crash. Instantly, he leapt back up and tried another flying kick.

Johnny sidestepped the flying kick, and then Kung Lao intervened by throwing his hat at the still in midair Liu. The hat grazed Liu, knocking him down to the floor and leaving a huge wound on his side. Liu had forgotten entirely about Kung Lao, not even considering him a threat. It seemed Lao took this to his advantage. Liu stood back up, wordlessly snarling at Kung Lao.

Kung Lao shook his head, "I had heard you had become corrupt but I didn't want to believe it. Unfortunately, I can see it is all too true."

Liu was reduced to little more than a growling animal at this point. He leapt at Kung Lao, who deftly avoided the attack by rolling under him.

"Come on Liu, you must be in there somewhere!" Kung Lao called out. "There must be something I can do to help you!"

Liu didn't respond, he instead threw a fireball at Lao. Lao blocked the fireball his hat.

"Please! You were my brother, Liu! I looked up to you! In spite of it all, I truly did! That's why I was jealous of you! I just wanted to be like you! Now, I want to help you! Let me! I'm begging you!"

Liu charged at him and tackled him to the ground. He raised his fists in the air, ready to strike the finishing blow. Kung Lao closed his eyes as he merely said, "I'm so sorry..."

As Liu was readying himself to ram his hands through Kung Lao's skull, Johnny came in with a shadow kick that knocked Liu on his back. Kung Lao then leapt back up and tossed the side of his hat into Liu Kang's chest. The sharpened blades dug into his entire upper body, sending blood across the entire throne room. Liu screamed out in agony before passing out. Kung Lao looked down at him, stricken with intense sorrow to see his old friend reduced to this. Johnny placed a hand on his shoulder, "Once this is all over, we'll help him. I promise you this."

Kung Lao turned his head back to Johnny and nodded. Kung Lao picked up Liu Kang and they both ran off to where Cetrion, Shinnok, and Kronika were now fighting.

The three Elder Gods had relocated to the Courtyard, fighting in the air, right next to the suspended hourglass.

In spite of her best efforts, Cetrion wasn't doing so well. The power of two Elder Gods was simply too overwhelming for her. Especially since she wasn't so adept at fighting. Indeed, things were looking especially when Shinnok slammed her to the ground. He hovered over her with a particularly vicious looking smile on his face.

"Dear, dear Cetrion, my oh my. How you have fallen so. You would die for these mortals?"

"Without hesitation." She spat at him while glaring at him in disgust.

"So be it." Shinnok replied. "Then your power shall be mine."

He reached outward as he attempted to suck out Cetrion's very essence. Then Kronika intervened by knocking him to the side and trying to do the very same herself. Shinnok shot a blast of energy at her, sending her flying.

"How dare you strike me!" Shinnok screamed.

Kronika flew back in and growled at him, "You are unworthy of this power! The hourglass belongs to me and I shall be the one who controls it."

Shinnok hovered above her and held his arms upward. A massive ball of green energy bigger than even he was began forming above him.

"This entire plan was my idea! As such, Cetrion's power is mine to claim!" Kronika shielded herself within a transluscent blue sphere to prepare for Shinnok's attack. Shinnok aimed forward and gargantuan unending blast shot out at her. Kronika tried to hold her shield up but her concentration was hard to maintain. Shinnok, however, was having the time of his life as he laughed madly.

Kronika couldn't hold up the shield anymore. As soon as it lapsed, she was swallowed whole by the beam, being completely and totally annihilated. When the stream of energy finally dissipated, nothing was left of her. Shinnok held his arms outward as he consumed the remaining residual power she had dispersed when she was destroyed. His eyes glowed an intense red as he grinned, "Now that her power is mine, I can finally move on to the final phase of my plan. Soon, all of the realms shall be under my control!"

Johnny and Kung Lao finally arrived in the Courtyard, but it was seemingly too late. Shinnok had pretty much already won. Cetrion turned back to them with her eyes half shut, "Stop him...you must stop him..."

"How can we hope to do that?" Johnny asked. "I can't imagine either of us will be a match for him."

"You won't be. Not you and Kung Lao. Instead, Johnny, you must team up with Liu Kang. You two are Earthrealm's greatest champions. Only you stand a chance."

"But Liu Kang is corrupted!" Kung Lao reminded her.

Cetrion shook her head, "If I share with them my power, it will purify his corruption."

Kung Lao set Liu Kang on the ground and stepped back. While it was disheartening that once again Liu Kang was chosen over him, Kung Lao knew this was the only way they might win. Not only that, it was the only way for his friend to be restored. So, he swallowed his pride and allowed it.

With that out of the way, Cetrion dispersed into bright green, blue, and golden dust-like particles. The particles surrounded Johnny and the fallen Liu Kang. A bright glow surrounded them as they were transformed into Cetrion's shared champions. Liu Kang's skin changed back to normal. Both of their eyes were glowing blue, as their clothes and hair changed to white. Glowing, runelike tattoos were now engraved in their skin. The two of them stood together, both champions united at last.

"Feels good to be back." Liu Kang said with a confident look on his face.

"Feels good to have you back." Johnny said back with an even more confident grin. The two nodded at each other. Johnny offered out his fist to fistbump Liu but Liu simply looked down at Johnny's hand in confusion. Johnny then shrugged with an awkward look on his face.

Cetrion called out to them one last time, "My power allows you to be immune to Shinnok's time reversal. Now, go and stop him..."

This was it, the final battle would begin now. Johnny and Liu shot out beams of green energy and fire respectively at each other. The two beams converged and then a combined blast shot out of it directly at Shinnok. The blast was enough to send Shinnok flying across the island. He teleported back to them with a sneer on his face.

"Cetrion has decided to share her power with mere mortals? What a waste. She couldn't wish to stop me with all of her power in one being, it being split up like this makes it even weaker."

"What we lack in power," Johnny began while cracking his fist, "we make up in skill.

Liu Kang pointed at Shinnok, "Your reign of terror ends here, Elder God."

Shinnok crossed his arms as he sank back down to the ground. "So be it, then. I shall give you a chance to save your timeline. If only to see you fail."

Johnny and Liu charged forward at Shinnok. Johnny went in with a shadow kick and Liu went in with a flying kick. Shinnok flew backwards, avoiding their attacks. Johnny slid forward, hoping to land an uppercut Shinnok. Liu also went in with a bicycle kick. Shinnok teleported behind them, causing Liu's bicycle kick to accidentally repeatedly hit Johnny in the back.

"Hey! Watch it!" Johnny cried out.

Liu Kang said, "I'm sorry!"

When Liu landed, the two stood together again. They glanced at each other and then looked at Shinnok. Shinnok chuckled to himself, "You two make for a sorry team."

"You might be right," Johnny said, "but this sorry team is going to beat you down!"

"Gloat all you want, but we won't back down." Liu Kang assured. After that, the two went at Shinnok again. Shinnok tried teleporting away but was stopped when Liu Kang shot out a fireball. Johnny then came in with a roundhouse kick that knocked Shinnok to the floor. Directly after that, Liu came in and stomped on Shinnok's chest. He repeatedly stomped on him, like a vertical bicycle kick. Shinnok sank into the ground and taking his place was a large skeletal hand. The hand gripped Liu Kang tight, but Johnny came and shattered the hand with a kick.

"Thanks," Liu gratefully said.

Johnny responded with a thumbs up and a wink.

Shinnok rose back up from the ground with his arms crossed across his chest. He floated away towards the hourglass, growing tired of this fight. Liu Kang leapt up above Johnny Cage, who caught him, surrounded him with green energy, and then tossed him up at Shinnok. Liu's fists were consumed by fire as he flew towards Shinnok like a missile. He rammed cleanly through Shinnok, tearing him to shreds.

Liu Kang landed safely back on the ground with a smile on his face.

Shinnok quickly recomposed himself, now shaking with anger. He roared as he changed into his corrupted, demonic form. "No more games!" He growled at them as he summoned clear orange constructs of Shang Tsung, Shao Kahn, Quan Chi, and Kronika to aid him.

Johnny fought illusions of Quan Chi and Kronika while Liu took on Shao Kahn and Shang Tsung. Shinnok took this time while they were distracted to float back up to the Hourglass to try to reset the timeline once again. However, his plans were interrupted when he was met with dozens upon dozens of projectiles. The rest of Earthrealm and Outworld's forces had finally made it to the Courtyard and were ready to help in the battle against Shinnok.

Shinnok threw his hands down and an earthquake shook the entire island. The sky turned cloudy, dark, and red as he screamed. He summoned two more constructs, this time of Blaze and Onaga. He sent them to attack the opposing forces and continued to try and reset the timeline.

Once again, he was interrupted. This time by Johnny Cage, who uppercut Shinnok and then kicked him back down to the ground. Shinnok crashed through the Courtyard floor and even deep into the island itself. He rose back out from the hole with a pillar of lava billowing out from behind him. He was hoping to soak the entire island in the burning hot liquid but this was prevented by Sub-Zero and Frost, who both shot out beams of ice to solidify it all up before this could happen. Shinnok looked across the battlefield in a desperate haze. Could it be that millenias of planning would be thwarted at long last? He couldn't allow this to happen, he simply couldn't.

He made one final reach for the Hourglass, hoping that he still had a chance to finish his plan. Johnny and Liu came running up the pillar of frozen magma. They grabbed each other's hands as they both charged up with their respective energies. With their combined might, they jumped off of the tower directly at Shinnok. They crashed into him just as he reached the Hourglass. All three of them slammed into the Hourglass as it shattered into shards. Together, Johnny and Liu Kang leapt off of Shinnok, pushing the fallen Elder God to the ground as he was impaled by thousands upon thousands of glass shards.

Shinnok reached outward with the last ounce of his strength but fell limp afterwards, finally dissipating into the ether. Johnny and Liu Kang landed after that. The two of them looked at each other with the biggest smiles imaginable upon their face.

"We did it!" Johnny said, ready to celebrate.

Liu's smile vanished as he realized something, "Wait...if Kronika's Hourglass is destroyed, doesn't that mean bad things for the realms?"

"That is what I thought too." A mysterious deep voice confirmed. "But, if it is like me, then it will simply reform where it needs to be."

"Who was that?" Johnny asked.

Raiden had returned, cleared of his corruption.

"Lord Raiden!" Liu Kang exclaimed.

"That's right." Raiden confirmed. "I had reformed in the Jinsei Chamber. It appears I reformed too late, though."

Johnny laughed, "Ahh, you're just fashionably late."

Liu Kang looked away from Raiden, "Lord Raiden, I...I am sorry for what happened all those years ago. I shouldn't have attacked you."

Raiden placed his hand on his shoulder with a warm smile on his face, "Don't worry about it, Liu. You were rightfully angry. To suggest Shao Kahn should win when I did, after all the lives we lost, it wasn't right. Mistakes were made, it's best to just leave it in the past."

Raiden then directed his attention to Johnny, "I'm especially sorry to you, Johnny. What I did to Sonya while I was under Shinnok's corruption...it's inexcusable. I would understand if you didn't forgive me."

Johnny thought about it for a moment but was willing to let it go. "It's alright, Raiden. Don't sweat it. Just as long as you can help her."

Raiden nodded, "I should be able to heal her wounds and help her make a full recovery."

"Wait," Johnny began to realize, "If you reformed, doesn't that mean that Shinnok and Kronika will too eventually?"

Raiden confirmed this, "Likely so. They are immortal, after all. However, they would reform in the Heavens, so it is up to the Elder Gods to decide their fate now."

As the conversation continued, Cetrion's energy cleared out from Johnny and Liu, leaving them back to their old selves once again. The particles clearing out from them took on a glowing human shape. In the blink of an eye, Cetrion reformed from this shape.

"I will make sure that Shinnok and Kronika are more severely punished. Take my word for it."

"Insure that you do." Raiden said to her.

Cetrion didn't say a word but the look on her face was more than enough to confirm that she would. She nearly left but before she did, Liu Kang called out to her.

"Wait!" He said. "You helped purify me and remove Quan Chi's corruption. Could you do the same for the rest of the Revenants?"

Cetrion turned back around, smiled, and nodded. "Of course." She sweetly answered.

Cetrion held her arms out as bright blue streams of light shot out from her palms. The streams wormed their way around to the various defeated revenants, shooting directly into them. As they did, their souls were cleansed of Quan Chi's control. The orange veins vanished first, then their skin reverted back to their living colors. Not only that, but her touch was enough to heal some of the ones who retained their wounds from their previous life, such as Kabal's burn scars. As an added thanks, she also thought to restore Scorpion's life and cleanse Bi-Han completely of anything that remained of Noob. After this, a beam of light shot down from the sky and returned to the Heavens.

Johnny, Liu, and Raiden looked upon the restored revenants. Raiden looked out towards the setting sun, "It's time to head home."

Johnny then looked at his past counterpart, who was dancing to celebrate their victory as Cassie looked on in embarrassment. Johnny ribbed Raiden with his elbow and then motioned down to his past counterpart, "Uhhh, what are we going to do about that?"

Raiden didn't really have an answer, "Good question, Johnny. I'm...I'm not really sure."

Suddenly, past Johnny vanished. Present Johnny panicked when this happened, "What does that means?!" He then turned to Raiden. "Raiden! What does that mean?!" Suddenly, Johnny jolted backwards as his eyes went wide. "Oh god!" He yelled out.

"What's happening?" Liu Kang asked.

Raiden stroked his chin. He then noticed that Frost, Kung Lao, Baraka, and Mileena weren't vanishing. It then struck him, "Without Kronika's influence, it appears that there cannot be two of the same person in one timeline. That means that those that are deceased in this timeline are still here." He then motioned to Johnny Cage, "However, those that are still alive are merged into one consciousness."

Johnny then recovered from this weird event, "I have his memories now! Err, my memories! Whatever! This is so weird! I hate time travel so much!"

"Time travel is truly interesting. Not even I fully understand it." Raiden remarked to himself.

Raiden and Liu stood together, watching the sunset as Johnny was still trying to wrap his head around all of this. It appeared that all their troubles were finally over. At least, for now. No matter what, though, they would be there to defend the Realms from anything that may threaten them. They, alongside the many others who would help them.

As they triumphantly stood over Shinnok, something watched them from down below. Beneath the Courtyard and within Goro's Lair, stood Havik. In his hand, he held up the Portal Stone. He laughed as he opened a portal with it and walked inside. Where he was heading or what he was planning, if anything, was a complete mystery...

* * *

_Well, that's the end of the story. After having a lot of fun writing the last chapter, I really wanted to get into writing this one. So, I did. I wanted to finish this story ASAP. That's why you're getting an update just a day after the last one. I really enjoyed writing this one too, I'm fairly happy with how it came out. Hopefully, you'll feel the same._

_ In particular, I really like the Johnny Cage/Liu Kang team-up. One of the big things I was unsure about while writing is, who's going to be the ultimate hero and save the day? I honestly wasn't sure until I finished writing the last chapter. That's how last minute this was. Still, in spite of that, I think it worked out well. Got to give both of the main heroes of the current timeline their props. It only makes sense it'd take two of Earthrealm's greatest champions to fight an Elder God like Shinnok._

_ Speaking of which, I hope nobody's disappointed that Kronika didn't get much of a fight. It's just that Shinnok is the main bad guy pulling the strings and has been since MK9. I couldn't take that from him. My goal was to make him seem like a big threat and to take him out just before the final battle? Wouldn't have really fulfilled that goal. If this were an actual game, I'd say that the battle between her and Shinnok would have actually been an actual in-game fight between them. You'd take control of Shinnok and fight her. That way, she'd still get a boss fight._

_ In spite of the fact that this ends on a cliffhanger, I'm not going to continue this story in a sequel. Sorry! At least, I'm not going to continue it for now. After the previous story and now this one, I'm tired of writing Mortal Kombat. I love the series but you write one thing for too long, you get sick of it. I just put a cliffhanger in to explain where Havik was while this was all going on and it's tradition for new timeline MK games to end on them._

_ Finally, for one last time, thanks for reading. I'm being sincere when I say that. I try to say it every time I can since I really do appreciate it. Reviews, faves, and follows are greatly appreciated but even just reading the story makes me happy. I'm not a great writer, I realize this. I've got my weaknesses. However, I'm always striving to improve. Even if it's only gradually. I'm grateful for all the support I've gotten, both for this story and just as a whole._

_ Anyway, I'd say I'll see you in the next chapter, but there isn't gonna be one. So, uhhh, I hope you enjoyed the story and that you have a nice day._


	16. Epilogues

_Special Forces Headquarters; mere minutes after defeating Shinnok..._

* * *

In a bright flash of lightning Raiden, Triborg, Johnny Cage, Cassie, Jacqui, and Jax returned to base at long last. Johnny was carrying Sonya, who was still completely out. As they approached the main bunker, it was almost an eerie sight. The base was completely and entirely empty without a single hint of life. All that was left were the bodies of the fallen, all strewn across the desert plains.

The bunker itself was derelict. The entrance was torn into and the interior was completely trashed. Cabinets were ripped apart, papers spread across the floor, and it was just in a very poor state.

The group all looked across the base in quiet horror. There was nothing that could really be said.

Finally, Cassie spoke up, "It's gonna take a lot work to rebuild here."

Jacqui concurred, "Everything...it's all lost. Can we even rebuild?"

"Of course we can," Johnny responded, "and the first step to that is reviving Sonya." He knelt down to put her on the floor. He set her down, but he didn't completely let go. Johnny held on to her hand, cusping both of his around her's. Tears slipped out of his eyes but he tried not to let his emotions overwhelm him as he gripped her hand tighter. "You're gonna be alright." He whispered quietly. It was less to reassure her and more to reassure himself.

Raiden stepped forward, raising his hands above her. Beams of electricity shot out from his palms, spreading across Sonya's entire body. After little more than a minute, Sonya jolted up with a gasp as her eyes went wide. Instantly, Johnny pulled her into a hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay." He said to her with even more tears welling up in his eyes.

Sonya was still trying process what happened, first trying to remember what had happened to her. Then, it hit her. She pushed Johnny off of her and aggressively stood back up. She balled her hands into fists and sucker punched Raiden in the face.

"You piece of shit!" She yelled while taking on a defensive stance. Johnny instantly got back up and stepped in front of her with his hands in front of him.

"Hey! Hey! Chill out, Raiden's on our side again!"

Sonya lowered her guard and took a second look at him. He was wearing all white again at least, so maybe he had changed. She pursed her lips and squinted her eyes at him, "I hope he doesn't think I'm so willing to forgive him for all he did."

Raiden graciously bowed, "I do not expect forgiveness. Even now, I feel immense regret for what I did. I'm so sorry, General Blade."

Sonya crossed her arms, "Sorry doesn't cut it."

Johnny tried to calm the situation, "Look, he wasn't in control. Shinnok's corruption overtook him! It's not his fault!"

"Doesn't matter." Sonya replied. "I don't care about what he did to me, but he could have hurt Cassie. He...he could have hurt you too, Johnny."

Johnny was left speechless by this. To see Sonya actually admit that, it was a bittersweet feeling. In better circumstances, he would be glad to hear it but right now? Johnny didn't want to see Raiden leave. He had been part of their lives for so long at this point. He was like a mentor, someone Johnny could rely upon in these hard times. Yet, Sonya had a point. Raiden could have seriously hurt Cassie and he DID hurt Sonya. Even if he wasn't himself at the time, Johnny could see why Sonya might not be so willing to forgive him.

Cassie stood by Sonya on this, "She's right, dad. I'll admit, I feel incredibly uncomfortable to even be around Raiden. He put mom into a coma! He might be different now, but that doesn't take back what he did."

"He helped heal her." Johnny said.

"This is something I hate to do," Jax began, "but I have to agree with Johnny. I know what it's like to be corrupted, to be something you're not. You have vague, fuzzy memories of what you did and the guilt it leaves is just...I can't even begin to describe it. I can't blame Raiden for what he did. He couldn't have helped himself."

Raiden intervened once more, "Cassie and Sonya have every right to not forgive me. I could have killed either of them. I could have killed any of you and I nearly did. Not to mention, the countless lives I did take while under Shinnok's influence. These actions are inexcusable..."

Raiden then started to walk away. Johnny called out to him, "Hey! Where are you going?"

Raiden turned back to him with a sigh, "I don't know. I must wander Earthrealm until I find an answer for how I'm going to repay for my sins. Farewell, to all of you. And thank you, for everything. Without you, Earthrealm would have been doomed. Until we meet again." With that, Raiden walked off into the desert. A bolt a lightning struck down as soon as he got outside and with that, he was gone.

Sonya watched him leave with a tinge of regret. Jax and Johnny were right, Raiden couldn't have controlled himself. Yet, at the same time, she thinks about what could have happened to Johnny or Cassie. She just wasn't ready to forgive him, not yet. She looked at Johnny with a hesitant look on her face. Johnny looked back at her with an unsure glance.

However, Johnny then held his hand out again. Sonya took it and the two embraced. Cassie slowly approached the two of them. Sonya nodded at her and smiled while motioning for her to come to them. Cassie ran towards them with open arms. The three of them embraced, their family reunited at last.

After a solid few seconds, Sonya finally pulled away while turning away from Johnny, "I'm sorry for what just happened. I'm just..."

"You're not ready to forgive him," Johnny finished. He wrapped his hand around her chin and looked her in the eyes, "I understand. As long as we're together again." Sonya then pulled him in for a kiss, which completely shocked Johnny.

Cassie looked on in joy, but also intense embarrassment. She glanced back at Jacqui and struck up a conversation to distract her from how awkward this felt, "So...what do you think we're gonna do next?"

Jacqui shrugged, "Beats me. I just hope it just has a lot less stakes involved than this."

"Agreed." Cassie simply replied.

"You wanna get some drinks?" Jacqui asked. "I could really use one right about now."

"You payin'?"

"Hell no!" Jacqui replied with laughter.

Cassie responded with a chuckle of her own while also answer, "Ahh, I'll still go. I could use some r&r right about now myself."

Cassie called out to her parents, "I'm heading out with Jacqui! Don't wait up!"

Johnny waved her off, "Alright! Have fun!"

"Stay safe out there!" Sonya reminded her.

As the two girls ran off, Jax sat down in a nearby swivel chair and lit up a cigar. "I'm ready to go back into retirement." He said with tired indignation.

"Right there with ya, big guy." Sonya responded.

"You're retirin'? Shit."

"Not sure yet," she replied, "but this whole time travel thing is making me consider it."

Johnny concurred, "Me three. If I ever have to experience time travel again in my life, I'm going to go insane."

Jax then turned his attention to Triborg, who was simply standing there in silence. "You alright there? I haven't seen you speak once since we got here." Jax then jokingly offered him a cigar.

To his surprise, Triborg took it. After scanning the cigar and tossing it away, the android finally replied, "I am still thinking about Geras. His purpose was solely to serve Kronika. He was helpless in her control. Then when he failed his purpose, he was destroyed. Is that my fate? When I am no longer suited to fulfill my purposes here, am I just to be scrapped?"

Jax's eyes went wide. He didn't expect the robot to go all philosophical on him. Jax wrung his hands together nervously as he tried to think up a response. After a couple minutes he replied, "Well, life's whatever you make of it. You could say that after I was no longer suited to fulfill my purposes, I retired from the Special Forces and found a new purpose. My wife, Vera, and my daughter, Jacqui."

"What you are saying is that I must find love when my time with the Special Forces is over?"

Jax at first wasn't sure how to respond but he followed through with answer, "Well, not necessarily. But, if that's what you're looking for, then I'm certain there's gotta be SOMEBODY out there for you. I didn't think Vera would accept me as a cyborg, but she didn't mind. Sky's the limit."

Triborg said, "Interesting."

* * *

_ White Lotus Monastery, two days after Shinnok's defeat..._

* * *

Raiden's first stop on his journey would be at the White Lotus society. Perhaps seeing the monks would help him realize what was next for him. He arrived at the gates of the Monastery. The two monks guarding it bowed before him and allowed him entrance.

He decided to check in on Liu Kang first. Liu was busy training some up and coming warrior monks. One day, any one of them could be Earthrealm's next chosen champion. Raiden walked into the class in the middle of one of Liu's teachings. He chose not to interrupt and just watched. He was quite impressed. Liu Kang made for a great mentor. After the lesson, Liu Kang finally took notice of Raiden. He paused the session and approached him. As the students took notice to the Thunder God, they all knelt in his presence. Raiden motioned for them to get back up.

"That is not necessary," Raiden assured them. Afterwards, the students then got back up and they all dispersed from the dojo.

Liu bowed before Raiden. "Lord Raiden, what brings you here?"

Raiden explained, "I am here to see how you have been doing, Liu Kang. I take it the White Lotus Society has been treating you well?"

"I couldn't have asked for a better reception. I am surprised at how quickly they have accepted me again." Liu Kang replied with a humble smile. However, he then looked away with a sigh.

"What troubles you?"

"It's just," Liu Kang began as he started walking out the dojo, "that I don't feel like I belong here. After everything I did, do I truly deserve my place here?"

"I know how you feel, Liu." Raiden said while following Liu Kang. "However, you must remember that you weren't yourself for a long time. Let us not forget you also helped end Shinnok's plan. You were instrumental in his defeat. Without you, the realms would not be here today."

"I know. But more than that, I find myself missing Kitana. While my time in the Netherrealm was awful, the one benefit was being able to spend more time with her. But now, we are seperated once more."

"Kitana has important business she must tend to in Outworld alongside Sindel." Raiden reminded him. "However, once that is taken care of I'm certain she may come and see you." Raiden then gestured towards Liu Kang's students, who were now playing together. "You also have important business here, Liu Kang. Training the next generation of Shaolin warriors so that they may one day defend Earthrealm."

"That's another problem." Liu Kang bluntly stated. "I don't want to train these students and then have one of them potentially suffer what I went through. I hope there will come a day when we don't need these warriors anymore."

Raiden sorrowfully lowered his head. "You don't know how long I've felt the same way." He sighed, raised his head, and then continued, "However, should that come to be, then their sacrifice insures the future of their fellow monks. Without the sacrifices you've made, the students you train now may not have had a chance to live in the first place."

Liu Kang looked at him with an understanding expression. "You're right, Lord Raiden."

"However," Raiden added, "should you not wish to continue your duties here, then I would understand. I know the other monks would understand as well. I'm certain I could find a suitable replacement. Both Kung Lao and Kai would do well in your place."

Liu Kang smiled at the offer but shook his head, "Thank you, but I will stay here. At least for now. I've only just got here, it would be rude for me to leave so soon."

"So be it. I wish you luck in your pursuits." Raiden then graciously bowed and walked off. He made his way to the shore of a nearby pond, where Kung Lao and Kung Jin sat together.

Kung Lao turned around as he heard footsteps. "Lord Raiden, I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Greetings Kung Lao. And greetings to you too, Kung Jin."

"Raiden! What are you doing here?" Kung Jin asked.

"I am only checking in on the White Lotus." Raiden explained. "I wanted to see if Kung Lao and Liu Kang were readjusting to life here well."

Kung Lao nodded, "Things are going quite well."

After that, the three of them just awkwardly passed glances at each other before Kung Jin interjected, "Could you go already?" Most monks would be displeased to hear a family member speak to a god like this, but Kung Lao heartily laughed at his cousin's upfront nature.

Raiden raised his hands and backed away, "Ahh, yes, of course! I'm sorry to have interrupted. Have a pleasant day, you two." Raiden then disappeared in a bolt of lightning.

Kung Lao wrapped his arm around Kung Jin's shoulders while still chuckling, "I've never seen anybody talk to Raiden like that. Well, nobody except me. You really are a Kung, through and through."

Kung Jin chuckled while scratching the back of his head. "Well, I suppose I just come by it naturally."

After that, the two sat in silence by the pond. In two days, they had all the time they needed to catch up. Now they could just bond as a family, just as Kung Jin always wanted.

* * *

_ Shirai Ryu Fire Garden: four days after the defeat of Shinnok..._

* * *

Takeda and Scorpion were walking together through the gardens. The two of them stopped over the little walkway that sat just slightly above the small creak. They stood in silence, leaning against the rails. That was, until Scorpion spoke up, "I know I'm not the Hanzo you once knew. I could never take his place."

Takeda's eyes looked to him.

"I'm not even worthy of the name Hanzo Hasashi. Not anymore." He continued. "This new Shirai Ryu, I don't know if I am worthy of it. You knew my present counterpart most of all. Tell me, would he think I was worthy of this new Shirai Ryu?"

"My master believed in redemption." Takeda explained while completely turning to Scorpion. "Though you are not him, you still have the potential to become the man he was. He would think you are worthy, I can say that for certain."

Scorpion stepped away from Takeda and turned his back to him. "But I am not a worthy leader, am I?"

Takeda turned his head back to Scorpion, "I cannot say for certain."

Scorpion nodded, "Very well. Then I must become one." He walked away with a heavy heart. Scorpion had always dreamed of the Shirai Ryu's return, but it appears that this new Shirai Ryu had outgrown him. Living up to his counterpart would not be easy. Though he might be accepted by them, he would live in constant fear of not living up. That he would do things in a way the old Hanzo might not have.

This agony in his heart caused fire to surround Scorpion, causing him to react in shock. "This cannot be!" He murmured to himself.

Unfortunately, it was to be. It appears that even the purification of an Elder God could be imperfect. The implications of this quickly overwhelmed Hanzo as the flames continued to consume him. Scorpion growled and balled his fists up as he screamed to the heavens. Takeda came running to him, "Hey! Calm down!"

Scorpion shut his eyes, took a deep breath, and the flames finally died down. "I don't understand what's happening. I thought Cetrion purified me and removed this taint!" Scorpion said.

Raiden then suddenly appeared, "I'm afraid that her purification can only go so far to help you."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that the taint of the Netherrealm and Quan Chi's hold over you shall remain for as long as there is anger in your heart." Raiden explained. "Cetrion's purification can only take hold if your very soul wants it to. To put it simply, something deep inside of you still wanted to hold onto your hatred. Ask yourself, Scorpion, are you truly willing to let go of your past?"

Scorpion narrowed his eyes, "I shouldn't have to let go of anything!"

"Then that is why you are still tainted."

Scorpion shoved the Thunder God aside and marched forward, "Silence! I won't hear anymore of this! Cetrion failed me! Just as everyone else has!"

Raiden tried reaching out for him, but Scorpion then vanished into fire. He held his head while shaking it, "I cannot believe this. Just when I thought we were successful in turning him..."

"I know what troubles him." Takeda interjected.

"Explain it to me?" Raiden asked.

"Master Hasash- Scorpion felt he was unworthy of being Hanzo Hasashi. Seeing his present counterpart and what he had done must have shaken him. The pressure of trying to live up to that must've been hard. If he could not be accepted as Hanzo, he would remain as Scorpion. At least then, he knew he'd have nothing to live up to."

"That would make sense." Raiden replied.

Takeda ran off to search for him but Raiden grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back. "What are you doing?! I need to go and find him!" He yelled while struggling in Raiden's grasp.

"No need." Raiden responded calmly. "I am currently travelling the world. If I see him, I will let you know."

Takeda took a deep breath and then nodded before saying, "Fine."

With that, Raiden then departed.

* * *

_Lin Kuei Compound, Arctika, one week after Shinnok's defeat..._

* * *

Bi-Han, Sub-Zero, Frost, Smoke, and Sareena were busy cleaning up after an attack on the main Lin Kuei palace. The attackers? Completely unknown. Whatever they were, they clearly weren't the Lin Kuei's local rivals, the Tengu. These attackers weren't dressed in any uniform and some of them didn't even look human. Where they came from is a mystery. It's like they just suddenly appeared.

Sub-Zero was inspecting one of their corpses when he saw something peculiar on one of their backs. He called over Bi-Han, "Hey! Look at this!"

Bi-Han, alongside Sareena, approached the body. Bi-Han's eyes went wide when he saw what was inscribed in bloody cuts on the back of the corpse. The inscription written said, "GREETINGS FROM AN OLD FRIEND BI-HAN!"

Bi-Han scratched his head before he suddenly remembered something, "My god!"

"What is it?" Sareena asked.

"I know who sent them." He replied. "Back when I was Noob, I was planning a coup against Kronika and Shinnok with Sektor and Havik. I had Havik steal the Portal Stone while he was in Outworld. He must've retrieved it after Shinnok brainwashed me."

"What reason would Havik have to attack you?" Sub-Zero asked.

"Reason?" Bi-Han rhetorically asked. "Havik doesn't need a reason. Probably just because we used to be associates and he thought it'd be amusing."

Sareena huddled up close to Bi-Han, "I won't let him hurt you."

"I doubt he will." Bi-Han affirmed. He then gestured to the bodies strewn across the floor. "If he them with intent to actually hurt us, we'd know it. This was done simply to spread chaos."

"Do you think he'll send more? Should we be cautious?" Smoke asked.

"To send more so soon would be make this less of a random attack and more of a coordinated effort. He might, but it won't for awhile. Long after we've stopped worrying about it."

"We should go after that bastard!" Frost suggested while pounding her fist.

Bi-Han agreed while crossing his arms, "Absolutely! Send the message that he shouldn't mess with the Lin Kuei."

Sub-Zero shook his head, "No."

Frost groaned, "Why not? We can't just let him do this to us!"

"To track him down would be nearly impossible while he retains the Portal Stone. Besides, how would we even get to Chaosrealm?"

Frost relented, "You're right. I apologize, master. I let my anger cloud my judgement once again."

"As long as you recognize that." Sub-Zero said with a reaffirming and slightly proud tone in his voice.

Bi-Han too relented shortly after, "I suppose you're right. I'm still too used to the old ways of the Lin Kuei. I know that the previous Grandmaster would have had us searching up and down for Havik."

Suddenly, the five of them heard footsteps. They all prepared for a battle, but it was merely Raiden walking in. "I am sorry if I'm intrud-" He suddenly paused when he saw all the bodies on the floor, "What happened here?!"

"Havik sent them." Smoke explained. "At least, according to Bi-Han."

Raiden knelt down to one of them and looked them over closely. "They're definitely Chaosrealmers." He confirmed while standing back up. "But how did they get here?"

"Havik's apparently got his hands on an item called the Portal Stone." Sareena said.

"By the Elder Gods!" Raiden exclaimed as he frantically turned to her. "The ability to make a portal to anywhere in the all the realms in the hands of that maniac?!" He started pacing frenetically as he considered the implications of this. Who knows what the Cleric of Chaos could do with such an artifact.

Suddenly, it struck him. Putting a stop to Havik just might be what he needed to feel like he had atoned for his sins. Raiden stopped panicking and took on a confident stance. "Thank you for informing me." He said just before quickly disappearing in a flash of lightning.

"That's worrying." Smoke stated plainly.

Sub-Zero agreed, "It very much is."

Sareena looked at Bi-Han and asked him, "Do you have any idea what Havik could be planning?"

"No." Bi-Han answered bluntly. "He's unpredictable. He might not even be planning anything. That just might be the scariest part of this all."

* * *

_Outworld - Kotal Kahn's Fortress, at the exact same time..._

* * *

Kotal Kahn was in a meeting with Queen Sindel and Princess Kitana of Edenia. They were in talks of peacefully seperating Edenia from Outworld. Things were looking promising for them.

"...anyway, that is why I feel that Edenia should be free from Outworld." Kitana finished.

"Well explained, Princess Kitana. You raise quite a few good points." Kotal complimented while clapping. "However, if I freed Edenia, I fear that it might raise demands that other realms should be freed. Outworld is still far from a united realm and I would like for that to change before I can consider splitting off other realms."

"A valid point," Sindel agreed, "but, unlike most other realms that have been merged with Outworld, one of Edenia's rulers is alive again. That ruler being me, of course. Therefore, I feel that is reason enough to give exception to Edenia, is it not?"

Kotal thoughtfully stroked his chin. "You might be right. I'll have to think on it."

He then turned his attention elsewhere. "While I decide, I can also address the second reason why I brought this meeting together. We are here to decide the fate of these three traitors."

Mileena, Skarlet, and the Kollector then proceeded to walk in. They were chained together, with their restraints being held by Jade and Reptile.

"I was considering execution," Kotal began, "but Mileena assisted us in defeating Raiden AND fending off the forces of the Netherrealm. Therefore, I am granting her a pardon as long as she pledges loyalty to me."

Mileena graciously accepted, "Very well. I already faced execution once, I won't do it again." Jade unlocked her restraints. Kotal then motioned to a free seat next to Kitana.

Mileena sat down, eyeing her sister. "What's the matter? No clever comments, sister?"

Kitana shook her head, "You're a different person than you were over two decades ago. So am I. I'm not going to hold any grudges. I still hesitate to call you 'sister,' but I don't hate you either."

Mileena was actually quite happy to hear that. Not that she outwardly showed it.

Kotal proceeded, "As for you two, you sided with Raiden and were complicit in the deaths of hundreds of my own militia. You did not turn back on him and you even refused to participate in stopping Shinnok and Kronika. I should execute you. But, I am trying to cut back on executions. If you choose to side with me, I will give you a pardon. If not, I will send you to the dungeon."

Kollector spat at Kotal's feet and laughed, "I refuse to join with you. You're a weak excuse for an emperor."

Skarlet concurred, "I'd sooner die than join your side again!"

Kollector looked at her with wide eyes as he hunched over and waved his hands in a panicked fervor, "She doesn't speak for me!"

Kotal looked down at the spit beneath his feet, then up to the Kollector's cowardly behavior. He sneered in disgust, "I wouldn't even want a spineless worm like you apart of this empire anyway. However, it does sadden me to see Skarlet refuse like this. So be it, then. Reptile! Jade! Take these two to the dungeon!"

Reptile and Jade nodded once as they took the two war criminals away.

Suddenly, Ermac called out to Kotal, "Your majesty! Come here."

Kotal stood up from his seat and ran to where Ermac was, near a window. "What's going on!?"

Ermac simply gestured out the window. Kotal's jaw dropped as he stared in silence. Suddenly, everyone else in the room was standing behind him to see what it was. In the sky, there was a great rippling. Like the realm was being torn apart. Suddenly, in the distance, a large chunk of land suddenly vanished. The parts surrounding the vanished land quickly over took it.

"That was Edenia!" Kotal exclaimed. He turned around to Sindel while gritting his teeth. "You!" He accused. He reached out for her but Kitana leapt in and kicked him away.

"Stay away from her!" She hissed.

"What was that for?!" Sindel yelled while backing away.

"You called this meeting to distract me so you could have someone shatter Edenia's Portal Sphere while I wasn't paying attention!" Kotal exclaimed while angrily marching towards her.

Sindel did a double take as she processed being accused of such an action. She then replied, "What? Do you truly believe I'd be capable of such an underhanded tactic, Kotal?! Come to your senses!"

Kotal ran at her but then stopped when Raiden suddenly appeared in front of him. Kotal froze in his tracks, "Raiden!"

"Kotal! I have arrived to warn you of something! Havik has stolen your Portal Stone!"

"I already know." Kotal said angrily before getting ready to shove Raiden out of the way. Then, suddenly, it hit him. Sindel _didn't_ set this up. Havik did. He stopped himself and apologized, "I'm sorry, Queen Sindel. I let my anger get the best of me again."

"So it would seem." Sindel said sarcastically.

Kotal shook his head, "So, it was the Cleric of Chaos. If only I got the chance to execute him..."

"So it would seem. Keep on high alert." Raiden warned. "Havik strongly opposes your regime. He will take any chance he has to throw this realm into sheer chaos. I wish you well, Kotal." After this, Raiden vanished. He only came to warn Kotal of Havik.

"Unbelievable." Kotal muttered to himself. "So, it would appear that you've got what you wanted, Queen Sindel."

"But at what cost?" Sindel asked.

* * *

_Outworld's dungeon, mere minutes later..._

* * *

Skarlet and Kollector were chained to the walls. They resigned themselves to this fate. It appears that this is where they would be for the rest of their miserable lives. The dungeon was a rather miserable environment. It was so dark, one could barely see. If it weren't for the torches in the halls, they'd be completely without sight. The floors were littered with bones and the stench was simply unbearable. It was an awful place to be in.

The two hung in silence. There wasn't much to be said between them. Kollector didn't seem to care one way or another for Skarlet and Skarlet absolutely detested his company. Still, they had better get used to it.

That was, until a portal opened. Both were shocked by this. Walking out from the inside was Havik. He quietly chortled as he walked out and the portal shut behind him. He looked at them, "What's the matter? Why so glum?"

"What do you want?" Skarlet simply asked.

Havik didn't answer. He simply pulled out a massive dagger and jabbed directly at her. She closed her eyes and flinched, readying herself for the impact. However, she didn't feel any impact. When she opened her eyes, she just saw Havik's face mere centimeters away from her's. She gasped as he laughed. He was actually kind of scaring her.

"Gotcha!" Havik proclaimed as he continued laughing while wildly waving his blade around.

Skarlet tried again to ask him, but she couldn't quite get the words out. She was shaking, seeing as how she was completely at his mercy. Each swing of his dagger got closer and closer to her.

Havik tilted his head. "What's got you so tongue twisted?" He mockingly questioned.

"Wh-what do you want?" She meekly asked.

Havik finally answered, "I need your help. You and I have a common interest." He folded his hands and paced back and forth as he continued, "We both want to dispose of Kotal. So, I'm coming here to ask if you want to join me? Or, you can just rot here in this dungeon. Or, _or_, I can ram this dagger through your skull. What do you say?"

Skarlet hesitantly agreed, "Well, anything's better than rotting in this cesspit. I'll accept."

"Good!" Havik joyfully exclaimed as he rammed the dagger through his own stomach. Skarlet was surprised when he did this. She knew what to do, though. She manipulated the blood pouring out from the wound. The floating liquid floated into the lock. After some work, she was free from her restraints.

Kollector begged to be released too, "Wait! What of me? Free me too!"

"Please don't free him." Skarlet demanded.

Havik shrugged and started walking away slowly. Then, unexpectedly, he turned back around and tossed the dagger at the wall. The dagger broke through the chain, freeing one of Kollector's arms. He grabbed the dagger with his free hand and used it to break the other chains. After that, he stashed the weapon away while hoping Havik wouldn't care.

Skarlet grunted in an annoyed fashion upon him getting loose.

Fortunately for Kollector, Havik didn't seem to mind the dagger being stolen. Using the Portal Stone, Havik opened the portal and gestured to it. "Come with with me." He walked inside.

While they didn't know where he was taking them, it was either go or try to escape Kotal's guards. With that in mind, they chose to follow after him...

* * *

_Yeah, I know what I said last chapter. There wasn't going to be a next one. But MKDemigodZ-Warrior's review convinced me that I should have an epilogue at least. So, shout-outs to him! If I'm not going to be writing a sequel any time soon, I might as well show how everything's going and where everyone is after the final battle._

_ I originally wasn't going to include an epilogue since MK games don't usually have them. But then I remembered, arcade endings often are epilogues. MKDemigodZ-Warrior also reminded me that MK11: Aftermath happened and that was an epilogue! With that in-mind, I relented. One last chapter._

_ I gave the big emotional goodbye last chapter, so I'll spare you that this time. For now, I'll just say thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this last chapter. I had a lot of fun writing it._


End file.
